


The Great Divide Chapter 17: Phase

by Antigravity_Carnivore



Series: The Great Divide [17]
Category: Breaking Benjamin (Band), STARSET (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Canon Gay Relationship, Computers, Dark, Emotional Baggage, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Manipulation, Emotions, F.E.C., Future Fic, Gay, Gay Male Character, M/M, Messengers, Rebellion, Science Fiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-31
Updated: 2017-12-31
Packaged: 2019-02-25 22:35:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 24,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13222644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Antigravity_Carnivore/pseuds/Antigravity_Carnivore
Summary: Time is running out on Prox, as the insane Burnley continues his task to destroy his father and the Messengers. Sending Lizzie and Selene off to get help, Thomas Bell tries his best to find a way back into the F.E.C. base to warn the others of what is happening, but is he too late?





	The Great Divide Chapter 17: Phase

Selene’s eyes closed and Burnley dropped her limp body down to the floor. He took a moment to wipe the fresh blood off his knuckles with the edge of his shirt, and grabbed her by the head with a handful of her long, dark hair. Giving it a yank, he bent down and pulled slightly. “Just so we get something clear…You and your son are NOTHING to me. For years you were searching for the source files for those goddam visors, hoping that you could get control of them back and make everything right. Little did you know that I had removed all your research from the F.E.C. servers years prior and have had it in my personal possession. I thought that perhaps one day you or your son could be useful to me, but I was wrong. You are a worthless woman who can only see past her own greedy needs and wants, and your son—he was nothing more than a pawn that was used against you, and once the F.E.C. got what they wanted, he was useless to them as well. His little group of rebels will be totally obliterated and wiped out of existence. Can’t you see that you were both being used? I’ll give you every bit of your research back, Selene... I have it all here… every shred of paper and bit of electronic data, but you still won’t be able to see that it’s meaningless now… and Thomas… hoping to restore Prox to the glory it once was is nothing more than a diluted dream. The F.E.C. has siphoned every bit of natural resources that this planet has to offer, destroying it in the process. Look outside and face the reality. They’ve won, so stop fighting and admit defeat. Accept your fate.” Reaching out, he grabbed Selene’s silver moon hair pin and ripped it from her hair, then took her communicator and quickly typed a message on it. “…and accept your death as well.” She let out a quiet whimper as he let her drop back down to the floor and slipped the pin and communicator into his pocket, turning his attention to the unconscious Benjamin across the room.

“So it finally comes to this, the end of all things.” Slowly, he walked over to where Ben was laying on his back and took a step to stand over him, putting one of his boots on either side of his hips. “You know, it almost feels like a crime ending you this way.” Lowering his body down on top of that of his fathers, Burnley positioned himself over Ben’s groin area and straddled him, bringing his knees down to the floor and putting his full weight on top of him. A wicked smile of delight crept across his face, feeling the warmth of Ben’s body between his legs. Reaching down, he withdrew the scalpel he had hidden in the top of his boot and gripped it tightly. Small smeared blobs of Dustin’s blood were crusted and drying across the edge of the blade, as he brought it down to Benjamin’s throat and held it precariously in place just over his windpipe. “I’d like to have you down on your knees in front of me, begging for your miserable life, instead of lying comatose on the floor like some sort of doll.” Burnley twisted his wrist and laid the flat part of the scalpel down on Ben’s throat, watching, completely mesmerized as each beat of his heart made the blood pump through his body and made the bright blue veins running under his skin pulsate with each beat. “Selene said that she ‘reprogrammed’ you with the visor… I am quite curious to see what that witch has done to you, so I am going to sit right here, on top of you, dominating you until I find out. It as piqued my curiousity.” Burnley grabbed hold of Ben’s shirt and using the blade of the scalpel, starting popping off the buttons one at a time, letting the fly off and ping against the concrete floor with an eerie hollow sound. 

“It’s a thrilling sensation, isn’t it Benjamin?” Burnley said as his fingers pushed layers of the fabric open and spread his hands over the flat plane of his father’s chest, letting the heat from his flesh warm his own cold and frigid fingertips. “Being dominated by someone who is better and stronger than you?” Spreading his fingers out over Ben’s heart, Burnley arced his fingertips and pushed his nails down into the soft flesh, whispering. “I’ve lusted after you… after this moment for so long, that it’s driven me to the edge of insanity. Each life that I’ve taken, every bone that I’ve broken has always been for you. When the innocent screamed for mercy, I refused to give it to them; I wanted them all to suffer, as you have made me suffer. I dreamed of the day when I return all the pain to you that you’ve given to me. So as you lay there sleeping, in the blissful state of unawareness I am going to take what I want from you, carve my hatred and agony into your flesh with this knife, until you open your eyes and confront me… for I am the living embodiment of your guilt, flesh of your flesh, blood of your blood who will punish you for every single sin you’ve committed.” Wrapping his muscular arms around Ben’s lower back, he slightly lifted him and tugged at the fabric of his shirt, pulling it completely off and then sitting his body gently back down onto the hard floor. Bunching up the shirt, Burnley brought it to his face and inhaled deeply, breathing in the scent that was lingering between the threads and then trembled with a sadistic, perverted desire. He could feel the first pangs of euphoric sensation making each nerve in his body tingle, as the rush of excitement spread through him, this was the moment he had been waiting for. Years and years of loathing and hating the man that had abandoned him were about to come to a end. Burnley would commit the most atrocious act upon his father; violate him in the worst manner, and thoroughly enjoy every single moment of it. There was only one thing that was preventing him from accomplishing his sadistic goal of revenge… and that was the simple fact that Ben was still unconscious. 

Tossing the shirt aside with a slight laugh, Burnley lightly ran his fingers down the side of Ben’s face, then swirled them in a sharp curve over his jaw line, enjoying the feeling of his fingertips gliding over the rough stubble. Watching his father for any signs of consciousness, Burnley whispered, “You don’t belong here. This is MY world, and I am going to erase every single memory of you here.” Bringing the scalpel up to Ben’s face, Burnley gripped it tightly and placed it on the soft flesh in the corner of his eye. A wide grin of delight spread over Burnley’s lips as he then twisted the instrument, moving it down onto his father’s cheek and then applying just the right amount of pressure to make it sink into the flesh. As the razor sharp blade separated the flesh in a neat clean line, the blood began to instantly pool up and start to flow down Ben’s cheek; gaining in volume as Burnley slid it down the cheekbone, pressing down harder and harder, not stopping until the metal bit into bone. Feeling the blade meet resistance, Burnley withdrew it and watched as the crimson trail of blood flowed freely from Ben’s lacerated cheek. “This is what I’ve wanted from you all along, father. I wanted to see you cry for me.” Reaching up, he wiped his fingers across the bloody gash and slightly tilted Ben’s head up, waiting. There was no reaction at all, Benjamin remained motionless and still as a corpse in Burnley’s arms. Burnley started to laugh. “Is this how it truly is? You cannot even bare to open your eyes to look at your son? Are you so ashamed of what I’ve become that even tears of pain are not enough to wake you up?” Sitting back for a moment, Burnley retreated into himself and sat silently, lowering his head. He watched the blood pool up on the floor from the deep, penetrating gash on his cheek and kept his eyes trained on it, watching, completely mesmerized as the dim light in the room danced off it. Still gripping the scalpel in his hand, he slowly lifted it up and stared at it, as the fresh drops of blood dripped down over his knuckles. Something stirred inside of him, something strong and powerful that he couldn’t resist; an urge he had felt countless times before in a haze of blood soaked rage. Tightening his grip on the blade, he swallowed, choking back the useless emotions that were gnawing at the edges of his brain. “You bleed like all the rest of them, Benjamin. You are nothing special.” Burnley dropped the scalpel and pushed his hair back, away from his eyes. All the emerald green color had faded, consumed by the flecks of amber that had once only been tiny spots on a beautiful canvas of green, now nothing more than cold, glaring eyes of a murderer. Bending down, he kissed the wound on Ben’s cheek, letting his lips taste the warm blood still flowing from it, and then keeping his back arched he brought those blood stained lips to Ben’s and kissed him. 

“He will still love you, if you give him the chance.” Selene’s weak voice whispered from across the room. Burnley’s head snapped up and he turned to look at her from across the room. Remaining where he had tossed her, Selene’s head was resting on her shoulder, and her body sprawled out motionless on the floor. She spoke very quietly, her voice pained and barely above a whisper. “Don’t do this Burnley; don’t let the hate consume you. This is your last chance at saving yourself… and saving him.” 

“Save him? Why the fuck would I want to save him? He abandoned us! He abandoned me!” Burnley glared at her, still perched on top of the comatose body of his father. “Do you know how much it hurts to know that your father would much rather drink himself into a coma and fucking DIE than to spend time with you?” 

Taking a deep breath, Selene winced, trying her best to keep the pain from her broken ribs at bay. She knew that she couldn’t black out now; she had him talking, and this was a rare event. The door was open a crack, and if she could make him listen, even for a moment, there might be a slim chance of saving him. “You have it all wrong, Burnley…. When you were born, Ben became a new man. He stopped drinking, cleaned himself up and so desperately wanted to be the father that you deserved. Don’t you remember those early days, when he would take you for walks down to the ocean, and let you play in the water? Can’t you hear the calls of the sea gulls down the beach, and feel the sand between your toes? He knew that he had done irreparable damage to his body, and he only had a short time left, and he wanted to spend every moment he could with you. You were his entire world. Those memories may seem far away, but they are still there, all you have to do is look for them…” Selene’s voice trailed off for a moment. “That’s the man that is laying on the ground in front of you Burnley, not some cold-hearted person who would willingly leave his wife and only child alone in the world. If you let the rage that you have inside of you take over, and you kill him…”

“If I kill him, then it will end and I will be free. I’ve lived in the shadow of this man for years.” Burnley snarled. “The F.E.C. shoved stories about him down my throat for as long as I can remember. They couldn’t stop the resistance from rising up, being led by him and your pathetic son, so their great plan to stop him was to wrench me away from my mothers arms and bring me here to oppose him. The things that they put me through, all for the sake of ‘conditioning’ me to be a better soldier were unspeakable, but you know something…. They made me stronger than I could ever possibly be, and opened my mind to a world of possibilities where I can be so much more than what they are expecting. Much like your Thomas, I have been awakened to my own potential. I intend on making full use of it, starting with taking the utmost pleasure in dispatching my father, and then only after I’ve satisfied every part of myself with him, and every single drop of blood has flowed from his broken body will I then turn my attention to the F.E.C. themselves. I won’t stop until they’ve suffered as I have, even if it means the total destruction of this planet and myself in the process. I will have my revenge.”

Selene closed her eyes, as a feeling of hopelessness started to overcome her. He wasn’t listening to her words, all he could focus on was getting revenge at any cost. Talking to him also served another purpose, and that was to stall time until Benjamin could wake up. She had only moments to program the experimental visor that she had crudely placed on him, moments before Burnley had intervened, and was fearful that something had gone wrong with the coding. The device had never successfully been tested or used on another person, it was a prototype that she and her husband had created years ago. After Tristan’s death, she couldn’t bring herself to continue the research on it, so she tucked it away, out of the hands of the F.E.C. and went to work on a new model; which they would ultimately steal from her. This device was a memento, a relic and a memory of the past that was never meant to be used, but she had ultimately been backed into a corner. With her hand forced, she would make adjustments that would give Benjamin exactly back what he had lost so that he had a fighting chance against Burnley. It was just a simple alteration, a minor change to his cerebral impulse that she had altered, and wasn’t expecting it to take so long. Her actions had placed Benjamin in extreme danger, and now he was Burnley’s helpless victim; she had delivered him right into his hands. A tear rolled down Selene’s cheek as waves of pain shot down her spine. The beating she had received at Burnley’s hands had incapacitated her, preventing her from moving, and she knew that he would never let her leave the room alive. Forcing her eyes back open, she tilted her head to look at Burnley with a deep sadness, she would die at his hands, and she knew that she had to make her death mean something. Parting her lips, she said one word that she was certain would get his attention. “Benjamin…” she whispered.

Burnley smirked at her. “It’s no use calling to him, he’s out cold. Whatever you did with your little toy has fried him; he’s not getting up anytime soon, Selene. So you can whisper, scream and shout all that you want, he is not going to rise up and be your savior. It’s all your fault, his blood will be on your hands just as much as mine.”

Her eyes went from the unconscious Benjamin up to Burnley’s, locking on them and focusing on that bright amber color, suddenly she wasn’t afraid of him anymore. Refusing to look away, she kept her voice steady and confident as she spoke. “I wasn’t calling for him…. I was calling for you, Benjamin.”

Burnley ran his hand across his lips, wiping away the stain of Ben’s blood that flecked them with a bright red color and stood up, rising off of Ben’s body but still remaining close to it, staring down Selene from across the room. “What did you just call me?” he asked, his voice high and shrill like nails on a chalkboard. 

“Benjamin Jackson Burnley. That’s your real name, the name that your mother and father gave you. You are named after your father, as he was named after his father before him. This ‘Burnley’ person that you’ve become is nothing more than a character created by the F.E.C. and forced on you since you were three years old. I know that you’re going to kill me, so I wanted you to know the truth about yourself before that happens. You keep going on and on about the terrible things that the F.E.C. did to you… and I understand, but there’s so much more than that.”

“Is this how it goes?” Ben asked, holding the silver and gold angel tree topper sideways in his hand.   
“No daddy! It’s wrong!” The little boy standing next to him frowned, and stuck out his bottom lip, pouting. His gray-green eyes flashed in irritation at his father's teasing.

With a smile on his face, Ben flipped the angel upside down and glanced at his son. “Is this the way it goes?”He asked again, knowing that the more he did it incorrectly, the more Little Ben would react. 

Little Ben put his hands on his hips and let out a irritated huff. “No! That’s upside down! Fix it!”

Laughing, Ben glanced up to see his wife walking in the room carrying a tray filled with hot chocolate and fresh baked cookies. The smell of the freshly sweets and thick, creamy cocoa made his stomach rumble in anticipation, and he smiled as he saw his son lose interest in decorating the tree, to be lured in by the same savory scents and aromas that were tempting him as well. Sliding the angel into place, Ben walked across the room, trying his best to avoid the jungle of dangerous Lego blocks and star wars toys scattered over the carpet, a mind field of painful foot injuries just waiting to happen. The sun was setting far down the beach now, and it was sending a warm glow through the floor length windows that ran the length of his living room. Stepping forward, he took the tray of goodies from Rhiannon, pausing to lean down and give her a kiss on the cheek and admire how beautiful she was in the sunset, with the last rays of the sun brightly illuminating the golden locks of her lustrous hair. 

Rhiannon handed over the tray to Ben, and bent down to catch her son who was running circles around the both of them with excitement. “Hey little guy, are you having fun decorating the tree with Daddy?” she asked, straightening up the little boy’s shirt that had crept up, exposing his chubby tummy. 

“Mmmm hmmm” Little Ben mumbled, watching Ben take the tray of treats over to the coffee table, obviously more interested in the soft, warm gingerbread men that were fresh out of the oven than decorating the family's Christmas tree. 

Looking around at the crooked garland, ornaments hung precariously on edges of branches and half lit sets of lights, Rhiannon let out a laugh. “Well it looks like my men did a wonderful job! So I think it’s time for a little break for some cookies and cocoa. Why don’t you go join daddy over there on the couch and get some snacks?” Reaching down, she took a moment to brush the hair out of his eyes before he was off and skipping over to the table. As he clumsily climbed up onto the soft cushions next to his father, Rhiannon turned her attention to the tree and began to straighten it up. Behind her, she heard her husband talking softly to his son, telling him stories about Santa. She loved to hear Ben’s voice, whether it be on stage, sitting in the living room singing along with his guitar or even just merely talking to Little Ben, the sound of his voice was comforting and soothing to her. She and Ben had been through so much in their lives, fought through all the failures to finally be at the place where they were now, that not a single day went by that she did not whisper a prayer in thanks that she was blessed enough to have both of these men in her life. 

The sun had set now, and the bright white lights from the Christmas tree were the only thing illuminating the room now, and Rhiannon noticed that her vision had become blurry. There were tears building up in the corner of her eyes. Sniffling, she wiped them away and then went back to hanging the decorations on the tree. Suddenly, she noticed that she could no longer hear Ben behind her, the only sound in the room was that coming from the cracking fireplace and the waves crashing on the beach. Then, much to her surprise, she felt warm, strong arms around her waist that startled her, almost causing her to drop the glass ball that she was holding in her hand. Standing behind her, Ben held her close and she relaxed in his arms. “What are you thinking about?” he asked, keeping his voice low, almost as if he didn’t want to break the calm silence that had fallen over the room.

Leaning back, Rhiannon rested her head on his shoulder. “I’m thinking about you, and how lucky I am to have you, and Little Ben.” Lacing her fingers together with his, she drew her thumb over the cool metal of the wedding ring he was wearing. “Ever since we were in high school, I’ve been in love with you. Somehow I knew that we’d be together someday, it was just a feeling that I had. You’re the only man I could ever love, and will ever love. You’ve given me everything that a girl could ever want. A wonderful home, faithful friends, tons of family, and a beautiful son, and it’s all because of you. I can’t ever imagine my life without you Ben.” Rhiannon curled up inside his tender embrace.

“What brought all this on?” Ben asked, kissing the top of her head. 

Letting out a light laugh, she turned around to face him, and he reached up to wipe her tears away. His touch was like fire on her face. “I don’t know, Ben. I guess it’s because you’ve been so sick the last few days and I’ve been worrying myself being paranoid about stupid stuff. I think it’s because I ran into this woman today at the store who gave me the creeps. She kept looking at Little Ben and asking questions about you. It gave me the chills.” She lowered her face, almost ashamed of her own truthful words and rested her head against his chest. It was good to hear the sound of his heart beating. “I am being silly aren’t I?”

Resting his hands on her hips, Ben slowly moved back and forth, dancing to a silent melody that only he could hear. “No love, you are not silly.” He drew a long breath into his lungs. “Everything that we have, Rhiannon, is because we fought for it together. None of this would be possible without you standing at my side, supporting me. I know that there were some really dark days, but they are all behind us now. Our home, our family, our child… is our future. This is what you have to believe in, and have faith in. If you let go of your fears and just trust that everything will be okay, you will feel so much better.” Ben looked out the windows to the horizon. The night time skies were unusually dark, thick black clouds had completely enshrouded the stars, drowning out their silver glow with a ominous darkness. There was a storm coming. It would be raining soon. 

“You’re right Ben. I need to stop worrying so much.” Standing up on her tip toes, Rhiannon rubbed her nose against his, and then whispered to him. “Benjamin Burnley, you’re my world.”

Benjamin smiled. “I love you.”

Stealing a quick kiss off his lips, she asked in a playful tone, “Forever?”

“Forever, until the end of my days and then far beyond that,” Ben took hold of her hand and held it in his, then brought it to his lips and kissed the golden ring on her finger. “I made you a promise that I won’t break, or ever forget. You are as much part of my life… both of you are… as I am of yours. We are a family and I will not let anything break us apart.” Bending down, Ben moved into place a kiss on her lips, but then something out of the corner of his vision caught his attention and he hesitated, looking over to one of the massive windows. 

“What’s wrong?” Rhiannon asked. “Is there something out there?” 

Ben let her go and walked over to the door and pulled it open. A cold, biting wind filled the room, chilling them instantly as he stepped outside and looked around. All he could see was darkness around them. He shook his head and shut the door as quickly as he had opened it, shrugging. “I thought for a moment I saw something outside, but I guess it was just my imagination.” 

“Witch.” Little Ben laughed, and they both turned their attention back to their son, who had crumbled every gingerbread man to tiny bits and scattered them across the table and had smeared the warm, sticky icing all over his face. 

“Ben! Oh my gosh!” Rhiannon laughed and went to sit next to her son, while Ben remained at the window, taking one last look outside to ease his fears. “Look at what you did! You’ve made a big mess.” Grabbing some napkins, she wiped at his chubby cheeks while he continued to nibble on the foot of a unlucky gingerbread man. “Well mister it looks like you’re going to have to get a bath before bedtime.” She turned her attention back towards Ben. “What do you say daddy, do you want to help get this little monster clean?” 

Feeling a sudden chill run down his spine and settle in his chest for a moment, Ben smiled at Rhiannon and pulled his hoodie a little tighter around his body. “Sure. I have something I have to go do quickly, why don’t you go draw the bath for him and I’ll be in shortly?”

Rhiannon picked up Little Ben in her arms and started to say something and then stopped. Whatever Ben had thought he had seen outside the window had obviously greatly disturbed him, and she knew that he wouldn’t be happy unless he dealt with it himself. There was no use fighting him, his stubbornness was both a blessing and a curse at times, it was just one of the many things she had learned to live with over the years. “Okay… but don’t forget to bring in his favorite Star Wars towel, I left in the dryer.” Lifting the boy onto her hips she walked over to Ben and gave him a quick kiss and then started to head to the bathroom. Ben watched them walk away from him and then noticed that his son was not looking at him, but focused on the window behind him. The little boy smiled as his mother took him away to the bathroom. 

Turning back towards the window, Ben gazed out at the beach and the darkness beyond. He knew that he had seen something out there, but he couldn’t be sure what. More than a feeling, rather than a physical shape, it made his chest feel tight and filled his body with a coldness that chilled him straight to the bone. The clouds overhead in the night swirled and churned, with a subtle rumble of thunder off in the distance. It was December, and nearly Christmas, and should be snowing, but instead there was a threat of severe and torrential downpours of rain in the forecast, which didn’t seem right. Ben always loved the rain, each drop of the cool water pounding against the roof and windows always sang to him with a melodic lullaby that he could listen to endlessly. The rain hadn’t come yet, but the scent of it lingered on the air like a thick perfume, and the seagulls and other beach dwelling creatures had already taken shelter, it was going to be a downpour. 

Looking over to the couch where Little Ben had been sitting, Ben spotted the massive amount of cookie crumbs spread out over the cushions, and smiled. He knew that he had to take his own advice and stop worrying about things so much, but it was so hard now that he had a family. Rhiannon and Little Ben were his entire world now, and insignificant things like seeing fleeting shadows on the beach were unimportant. Taking one last look out into the darkness, Ben turned away from the window and started to head towards the bathroom, when a shooting pain hit him, radiating from the center of his chest and down through every nerve in his body. Gripping the material of his shirt, he started to gasp for breath, each inhalation of air into his lungs felt like a hundred razor blades cutting into him all at once. His pulse quickened and he immediately began to feel light headed and weak. Stumbling forward, he moved toward the couch and attempted to grab hold of it, but his knees gave out before he could make it there and he found himself pitching forward and dropping down to the floor. His body hit the soft carpet with a quiet thud and for a moment everything went black. Struggling for breath, he began to cough, but the air refused to enter his lungs, stifling off any sound or cry for help. Not quite knowing what was wrong, or why his body was suddenly shutting down, Ben knew that he had to get back on his feet. Whatever was happening to him, wasn’t good and he had to get to Rhiannon before it got worse. Gripping hold of the edge of the couch, Ben’s fingers crushed gingerbread crumbs underneath them as he managed to find enough strength to pull himself into a kneeling position, but a sudden fit of coughing overcame him. 

“Ben, are you alright?” Rhiannon called from the bathroom, her voice echoing over the white porcelain tiles.

Ben wanted to call out to her, to have her come and help him through this episode of pain, but he couldn't bare to have his son see him like this. Trying his best to clear his throat, he used every bit of strength to answer her, making it sound as though nothing was wrong. “I'm fine. Why don't you go put Ben to bed and I'll be in shortly, there's something I have to take care of before I come in.”

Rhiannon hesitated for a moment before answering him, remembering that he thought he saw something outside and assumed that he was just doing his best to check out everything and protect them. Dismissing it as a 'guy' thing, she called back to him. “Alright but don't stay up too late, we're going shopping tomorrow with Shaun and Leanne.”

Satisfied that she was busy tending to Little Ben, Ben once again tried to pull himself together and push through the pain. His chest heaved with each spasm; he felt a warm sensation on his lips and a bad taste in his mouth. Grimacing, he spit the foul taste out and saw a small splatter of blood and viscous tissue hit the floor in front of him. “No…” he whispered. “I beat this…” A tear rolled down his cheek as his fingers lost their grip on the edge of the couch and he fell over, dropping into unconsciousness in front of the amber and gold Christmas tree. 

The dark skies outside opened up and the rain began to pour down in thick sheets, pounding against the windows of Ben’s house, coercing him awake. It was just before dawn and he slowly pulled himself up from the floor, holding his throbbing head in his hands. He had no sense in how long he had laid on the floor, or what had even happened, only the dull ache in the center of his chest was the only evidence left of the sudden attack that overcame him. He was weak and tired, like he had just put his body through a hundred mile long marathon race and felt like he would drop over at any moment. He forced himself to swallow the dry air, forcing it down his parched throat and into his painful lungs. Glancing around, he could see that the light was no longer on in the bathroom, and the doors were pulled shut to both Rhiannon and little Ben’s bedroom. The clock on the fireplace mantle read 5 a.m. Ben let out a slight cry, startled by the loss of time. 

Holding onto various bits of furniture for support, Ben made his way across the living room and towards Little Ben’s bedroom. With a shaking hand, he pushed the door opened and looked into the room beyond. A Storm-trooper nightlight illuminated the posters that adorned the walls, and scattered toys strewn across the floor. In the center was a small bed, with blankets and sheets that matched the curtains with a sci-fi print. Stepping into the room, Ben reached out and pulled back the lump of blankets on the center of the bed, only to find that his son was not under them. The room was empty. A sickening pain started to form in the pit of his stomach, sending Ben into severe spasms that sent him reeling against the wall. Hitting the hard surface with a resounding thud, he felt a jolt of pain explode through his entire body, and struggled just to remain standing on his feet. Pushing past all the agony that he was physically assaulted with, Ben managed to exit the room and make his way down the hall to the master bedroom. In the distance, he could see that the door was slightly open, and that there was a dim light coming from inside. Step by step, he walked down the hall and put a hand on the door, pushing it open and letting it fall back as wide as possible. A crash of lightning far off out to sea burst through the dark clouds and made him jump. A small voice called from within. “Don’t be afraid, daddy.” 

Moving into the room, Ben could see his son sitting cross legged on the bed, holding a flashlight and comic book in his hand. He was next to Rhiannon, who was fast asleep; her long golden hair sprawling out over the pillow like a halo surrounding her. As Ben approached them, his son looked up from the pages of his book and brought a finger up to his lips, making a motion for Ben to be silent. “Mommy’s sleeping.” Ben walked over to the bed, and put a hand on Rhiannon’s shoulder; she stirred quietly, but remained sleeping. Moving over slightly, Little Ben looked up to his father. “Daddy sit down.” 

Staring at his son, Ben remained motionless for a moment. “Benjamin what are you doing up at this hour? Didn’t Mommy put you in your bed?” 

Little Ben gripped his flashlight and moved it in a upwards motion, temporarily blinding Ben, who had to shield his eyes from the brilliant flash for a moment. “Mmm hmm, mommy read me a story, but then went to sleep. She was sleepy. I wanted to stay up and wait for you Daddy.”

Benjamin sat down on the bed next to the little boy and slipped an arm around his small waist. Little Ben scurried in close as he could and leaned in against his father’s warm body. Feeling his son sitting in his lap made Ben forget about all the pain and agony for a few moments. Leaning down, he kissed the top of his son’s head and listened as the rain pattered down on the windows outside. Little Ben turned the pages of the book, and waited for a moment, expecting Ben to start reading. Looking up, his soft gray-green eyes locked onto his fathers and he smiled at him. With his gentle voice, he whispered to his father. “Daddy? Are you sick?” 

Startled by his son’s question, Benjamin felt a wave of cold run down his spine. “Daddy’s fine. Why do you think I am sick?”

“Mommy says that you don’t look good, and you take too many naps… and one day you won’t wake up.” Little Ben’s eyes welled up with tears. The boy put down his book and crawled into Ben’s arms, wrapping his arms around his neck. “Daddy I don’t want you to be sick. Sick people go away and never come back.”

Clutching his son tightly against his chest, Benjamin was overcome with emotion. He closed his eyes and rocked him back and forth. “Hey listen, I am not going anywhere. I promise! Shhh, it’s alright.” Gently, he moved Ben’s little body away from him and wiped his tears away with his fingertips. A random car’s headlights briefly illuminated the room for a fraction of a second and Ben could just barely make out a strange discolored spot in the corner of the boy’s soft eyes. “Ben, do you know why we decided to call you that? Benjamin?” Little Ben shook his head and wiped his sniffling nose. “Well you see my father’s name was Benjamin, and he was a really great, strong man. He worked so hard and fought for everything that he had. A lot of bad people tried to take things away from him, but he stood his ground and refused to give in.”

Little Ben rubbed his sleepy eyes. “Like the bad people did to you daddy?”

Benjamin brushed the hair out of his son’s eyes. “Yes Ben just like that.” A part of Benjamin beamed with pride, knowing that his son truly understood the words that he was speaking. He was wise beyond his years, but still was only a child, and it was Ben’s wish that he could keep him this sweet and innocent for the rest of his life. He was the reason why Benjamin was alive. His baby boy had stopped him from drinking himself to death, and gave him a new, wonderful life, and for that he was grateful. “So we named you Benjamin too, so that you can grow up to be strong and proud just like the rest of us. Whenever you hear someone call you by that name, I want you to know that is the name you share with me, and grandpa too, and you will have the strength and courage to do whatever it is you want to do. There might be a time when you're going to have to fight your own bad guys Ben, and when that happens you need to keep telling yourself that you are stronger than them, and they can't hurt you. Stand up for what you believe in.”

Looking down, Ben saw that his son had fallen asleep in his arms. Bending down, he gently kissed his forehead and placed him gently next to Rhiannon in the bed, pulling the blankets up around them both. He moved slightly to stand up and heard little Ben whisper to him as he woke up. “Don’t let the bad guys get me daddy, they scare me. Stay here with me and mommy. Don’t go.” 

Stretching out, Benjamin curled up on the big bed next to his son and his wife. The rain poured down the windows, pattering a light lullaby of droplets against the glass. “I promise to never let the bad guys get you. No matter where you go, I am going to protect and watch over you, and mommy too. We will fight them together. We’re going to be a happy family forever. I love you both so much. You are my world.” Placing a arm over both of them, he watched his son’s eyes flutter close again and sighed softly, trying desperately to wish all the pain away. In a quiet voice, he began to sing… “Rain rain go away… come again another day, all the world is waiting for the sun.” A small smile crept over little Ben’s face as he slept, taken away to a safe slumber, surrounded by the ones that he loved. 

“For a long time that night, Benjamin would lie there in bed with his family, watching them both sleep, refusing to close his own eyes. He knew that even though he beat the alcoholism, the sickness that it brought with it still remained, hidden, dormant for three years, but now it was back. Every time he drew a breath, he could feel it in his lungs, pressing down on them, sending wave after wave of pain through his heart and weakening his body. He became exhausted easily and some days couldn’t even get out of bed. Even through all of this, his love for you remained strong, Burnley. He kept the illness secret from almost everyone, not even choosing to tell those that he kept close to him. To him, the disease that ravaged his body was a weakness, and he couldn’t let people see that side of him, especially not you, his son… the most beloved thing in his life. Eventually, he became so ill and his body shut down. He had fought for so long, always being so kind to others, giving until it hurt, and never letting anything stop him from the things that he wanted to accomplish, and it all caught up to him. Benjamin Burnley got everything he wanted from life, including you, but then lost it because of his past sins. Not a single day went by that he didn’t regret trying to drink himself to death, I could see it every single time I looked in his eyes when he looked at you. He wanted to give you the world.” Selene said softly. 

She then set her eyes on Burnley directly. “You know I am speaking the truth, because you can feel it deep inside. The F.E.C. may have robbed you of your childhood, but they haven’t stolen everything. They left something behind, something deep inside of you that even their most invasive torture devices could never find, and that is the unquestionable love that you have for your father. You fell asleep in his arms knowing that he would never harm you, it’s there, I know it, past all the hate and anger that you feel, lurking beneath the layers of pain and sorrow that you’ve used to hide it.”

Walking over to her, Burnley bent down and grabbed her by the front of her coat once again, raising her body up slightly and shaking her violently. “HE ABANDONED US!” He shouted at Selene. Even in immense amounts of pain, she kept her head held up and her eyes on his, trying her best not to show any sign of weakness. Burnley’s sudden and unexpected outburst meant that she was getting to him; she had hit a nerve and had rattled the usually calm and sly man with her words. He was cracking, and she knew that she had to continue to push. 

“You know that’s a lie, Benjamin. He didn't leave you, I took you away from him. I was the one responsible for doing the F.E.C.'s dirty work and bringing you here. He loved you, he STILL loves you. Your name was the last word he ever spoke; it was YOUR hand he was holding at the end of his life. He fought so hard for you, because that’s what parents do. They fight for and protect their children forever.” Selene lowered her voice. “This is a lesson you will learn too, in time.”

“That’s not my name! DON’T CALL ME THAT!” Burnley snarled at her. He slipped his hand around her neck, cutting off airflow and crushing her windpipe. “Prove to me that you care for your child Selene. Call out his name with YOUR dying breath if you can. Pretend that you just didn’t walk away from him now and leave him here to die on this planet.” He tightened his fingers and he could feel the bones start to shift and crack. “Keep thinking of him, think of Thomas because when I am finished with you, witch… I will find him and rip him apart with my bare hands.”

Unexpectedly, a loud voice boomed out from behind Burnley. “Benjamin!” As Burnley turned around, he caught a glimpse of his father standing behind him, a look of sheer anger on his face, just moments before he pulled his arm back and let loose a punch aimed at his son’s jaw. Before he could react, the force of Ben’s closed fist impacted with his face, and the momentum threw Burnley off balance and he fell backwards, knocking over a small table filled with glass chemical tubes, which crashed onto the floor, spilling their highly flammable contents. Landing in a pile of glass shards, Burnley’s back hit the wall and he remained still for a moment, dazed and out of breath. 

Standing up, with his 6’2 height looming over him, Benjamin addressed his son with a commanding tone in his voice that made Selene shudder and wince. “Get your ass up, Burnley”

Using the back of his hand, Burnley wiped at the corner of his mouth where his lip had been split. “Finally awake father? I’m glad.” Burnley’s voice had changed. It was calmer, quieter now, almost soothing. As he slowly made his way up to his feet, he pulled bits of broken glass out of his skin and dropped them to the ground, the room was silent, except for the sound of each shard hitting concrete and shattering. “I need you awake, to hear her confession.” He said, pointing at Selene. 

“No Burnley. No more games. We’re going to end this right here and now.” Reaching out, he found Burnley’s sword sitting against the desk and gripped it tightly. The sharp blade gleamed bright, almost as if calling out for blood. Stretching his arm out, he pointed the tip toward his son. “You have to be made to answer for all the innocent people you’ve murdered, for all the crimes you’ve committed. I’ve tried my best to reach you, but I think that you’re just too far gone.” The expression on Ben’s face was unreadable, cold and stoic. He did not waver or shake at all, but instead as still as a statue.

Tightness started to form in Selene’s chest and a wave of guilt washed over her. “Ben….” She whispered. Neither of the men heard her nearly silent plea. She looked toward Burnley, and noticed that as his father approached him with confidant, imposing steps, his shoulders sunk down and he retreated slightly against the wall, not quite backing down, but not challenging the man in front of him. Something was happening; a shift in power from one man to another, that she was responsible for. The small bit of fiddling she had done to Benjamin’s brain had major repercussions, and now he seemed to be the one to be feared. Trying desperately to pull herself to her feet, she noticed that her long coat had become soaked with chemicals which were pooling up all around her on the floor, staining the dark fabric a deeper shade of black. Panic started to set in. She knew that she had to remove herself from the situation as quickly as possible. She would flee and leave the father and son to come to terms with their own problems, and be out of the base before anything else happened…but what about Thomas?

“So you’re going to just kill me then?” Burnley asked, picking up the shirt that he had taken off Ben earlier and holding it tightly in his hands, running his fingers over the embroidered logo from the Messengers. “It’s fine. I know that I’ve done some wicked things and am fully prepared to answer for them.” Twisting and turning the fabric around in his hands as he spoke, Burnley’s eyes became damp and wet with tears, which he fought so hard to hold back. “Before you end my life… the life that you have given me, I want you to know that I was wrong to hate you. The F.E.C. filled my brain with so much nonsense from an early age that it was hard to separate the truth from the lies. Once you start hearing the same lies over and over again, you start to believe them. I used all this as my armor and my shield against you, hoping that I would never have to see the truth that was right before me all the time.” Straightening up, Burnley took a deep breath and let go of the shirt, his hands were trembling. “Things are different now, I know the truth.”

“Which is what?” Ben asked, stopping in the middle of the room and listening intently. 

Burnley slipped the shirt on over his shoulders and left it hanging slightly open in the front. Ben could see the multitude of scars and lacerations from old wounds running over the young man’s body. “The truth is that no matter how hard I fought it, no matter how much I try to resist it, I am your son, and I just wanted to be a great man like you.” Noticing Ben looking at the scars, Burnley quickly pulled the shirt closed. “They beat it out of me. Every day, every night. I was mentally and physically tortured and told that I had to hate you. When they shoved themselves inside of me, I screamed so loud, hoping that you’d hear me and come save me…I cried alone at night, wishing you were here with me, to sit me in your lap and read me a bedtime story until I fell asleep at night. Or maybe sit on the couch with your guitar and sing to me as it rained outside. I love the rain, it reminds me of those days when we were a family. It never rains here on Prox. I’d give anything to feel one more raindrop hit my cheek before I die.” Letting out a remorseful sigh, Burnley dropped down to his knees in front of Ben and outstretched his arms. It was a unprecedented moment of submission. “Never would I have imagined that this is how things would turn out, I thought for sure that you would be the one kneeling before me. I know that you should not show me mercy, but I am asking for it anyway, father. Can you do that for the little boy who fell asleep in your arms on Christmas Eve? Can you spare him one more moment of torture?”

Across the room, Selene shifted, trying once again to pull herself up, but the pain she sustained from her wounds as far too great, and she slumped back down onto the floor, letting out a small cry as her body hit the concrete. Both Burnley and Benjamin turned to look over to her at the same time, and she couldn’t help but to shudder at their cold eyes focused on her. “Benjamin…” she whispered. “Don’t listen to him, he’s manipulating you! You’re vulnerable right now, because of the visor I had to use. I tried, I really did…I am so sorry, I failed you.”

Ben kept his position over Burnley, unwilling to let him move an inch in any direction. “You… you used that god damn visor on me.” He said. “You messed with my head.”

“I did.” Selene said, drawing in a long painful breath. She desperately wanted to say more but it was becoming difficult to breathe and all she could focus on was the pain. 

“There’s more to it than her just using the device on you, father. I was trying to warn you about her, she’s worked with the F.E.C.” Burnley chimed in. “She’s done it to hundreds of people, helping to enslave Prox. “If you look on the desk there, you will find all the research notes, written and coded in her own handwriting detailing the specific instructions on how to use the devices and tweak them for optimal brainwashing capabilities. All the evidence is there, take a look.” 

Moving over to the desk, Benjamin scanned through the thousands of sheets of paper, all neatly laid out. All of the evidence was there, from coding instructions, to lab reports with graphic photos displaying the results of failed tests, neatly stacked in piles all waiting to be reviewed. Benjamin picked up one of the photos, a picture of a disheveled small child, a resident of Prox, strapped down to a chair. His small head was held down with a series of straps and clamps and a visor had been placed over his eyes. There were needles protruding out from the device that were inserted into various points around the child’s head which dripped with bright red glistening blood. His mouth was open in a silent scream; the agony trapped forever in a moment of a shutter button being pressed. Ben held the photo so that Selene could see it. “You did this?”

“I created the visors yes…but I did not mean for them to brainwash people, especially not children! They were created by my husband and..”

“STOP!” Benjamin shouted at her. Taking a deep breath, he surveyed the massive amount of research on the desk and shook his head. “I’ve had that thing used on me three times now, and I’ve seen the harm that it causes. These aren’t ‘medical’ devices, and you know it Selene. These things are weapons, pure and simple. They fuck up a person’s head in ways that no one should ever be able to. You warned me about Burnley, and how he manipulates people but the truth is that you are no better than he is. You change how people think, you steal their memories and fill their heads with whatever you want, turning them into mindless slaves. You used CHILDREN as test subjects!” Grabbing handfuls of the paper, Ben angrily tossed them down to the floor where they fluttered like leaves on the wind before coming to a stop, blanketing the floor and absorbing the noxious chemicals. 

Selene looked up to Ben with wide eyes; she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “It’s not like that… I have a son of my own… Thomas…Jesus Christ, you know him Benjamin! Thomas Bell is my son..” Her voice trailed off for a moment, and before she could find it again, Burnley spoke up once again.

“Oh yes, let’s not forget about Thomas the prodigal son, the perfect soldier who would stop at nothing in his endless obsession over Benjamin. Did you know that your precious boy assaulted Ben, blinding him and letting him be captured and imprisoned, and then when things started to look up, he walked away from him just when he was needed the most, breaking his heart.” Burnley looked to his father for a moment who was obviously trying his best to conceal his emotions. The pain that Thomas has caused him was still too fresh, the wound was too deep and Burnley kept poking at it. “But the worst atrocity is that Thomas assisted the F.E.C. in wiping out the entire Messenger base, killing hundreds of innocent people. It was a betrayal of the highest form, slaughtering families who had no military connections at all.”

Benjamin lowered the sword completely. “The Messengers are gone? All dead?” 

“Yes. Gone or captured and converted into Carnivores.” Selene answered in a small voice. “Ben, you have to listen to me—something’s not right here. I only used the visor to undo everything that has been done to you since your arrival on Prox, I wanted to use it to turn you against Burnley, but I couldn’t do it in the end… but the device was a prototype, the first one that Tristan and I ever made, it’s glitched and is amplifying your emotions at the moment. You need time to rest and let the signals settle down. Think things through before you act irrationally and do something that you might regret.” She pleaded. “Right now your thought process isn’t working correctly, this is the same thing that happened to Thomas after he recovered from the initial use.”

“Selene, answer me honestly, are the things that Burnley saying lies? Just answer me yes or no.” 

Looking at Burnley who was still kneeling on the floor, she could see the expression of triumph in his amber eyes. She knew what he was doing and it sickened her. “No, nothing he has said is a lie.”

Reaching out, Benjamin extended his hand to Burnley who took it and slowly rose to his feet. Selene felt crushed and defeated. The noxious smell of the chemicals she was still sitting in made her sick and nauseous. Ben walked over to her and knelt down. She looked deep into his eyes and felt deep sadness and sorrow reflected there that she instantly started sobbing, lowering her face, unable to look at him anymore. Ben put two fingers under her head and lifted her chin up so that he could look directly at her. “This isn’t my home. I don’t belong here. I tried so hard to protect it and save the people here on Prox but the F.E.C. always had the upper hand. I am tired of losing the things that I love so I am going to take my son and walk away from it all.” Behind him, Ben heard Burnley move slightly. “Stop the fighting. Go find your son and be free. He needs his mother, he needs family. Family is everything.” Standing up, Ben made his way over to Burnley who had composed himself and was patiently waiting. “Let’s go.”

“Where?” Burnley asked, raising an eyebrow. 

“I don’t care.” Ben answered, already heading for the door ahead of his son. “Just not here.” Making his way out of the room, Burnley took one last look at Selene, lying on the floor sobbing softly and then followed Ben. After a few steps into the hall, Burnley suddenly reached out and grabbed hold of Ben’s arm, stopping him in mid-stride. “What are you doing?” he asked.

Letting go of Ben’s arm, Burnley spoke in a hushed tone. “There’s one more thing you need to know.”

Ben looked away from his son and started moving forward again. “No. I’ve heard enough. You wanted a fresh start, a new life… then you need to let things go. If you can’t do that, then I can’t help you.”

Burnley stood motionless and watched Benjamin walk away from him. He frowned and stuck his hands in his pockets and called out. “Selene was the F.E.C. operative who was sent back to take me away from you. She was the motorcyclist who ran down Ron and plucked me from the streets crying on that rainy day.” Ben stopped walking for a moment, Burnley had his attention. “They sent her back several days in advance when you were taken ill and watched you as you lay dying, so that she would have the best opportunity for kidnapping. She chose the day of your funeral because she knew that everyone would be caught off guard grieving for you and it worked. Selene wanted to exchange my life for that of her own son’s. She knew what they were planning for me, all the constant torture and rape, and was still able to hand a 3 year old boy over to the Carnivores. Creating the visors was not her greatest crime, it was stealing me away from you, away from mother, to suffer endless nights of pain.” Walking up to where Ben was standing, Burnley leaned forward, pressing his body close to Ben’s. “The anger you are feeling right now must be so great father.” He reached out with one hand and ran his fingers down Ben’s arm, softly caressing it. Benjamin closed his eyes and didn’t speak. “Her actions caused the people of Prox to become enslaved by the F.E.C., her son took the lives of all the innocent souls in the shallow bay. She kidnapped me and left me to the bastards here to take advantage of, and she used a experimental device on you in an attempt at reprogramming you to murder your own son.” Burnley moved slightly and let his lips glide along the back of Ben’s neck; he could feel the dense muscles lurking underneath the skin, tense and taught, caught in confusion. “The rage is just flowing through you, I can feel it inside. It’s eating you up, devouring every bit of good nature and compassion that you have.” He grabbed hold of Ben’s wrist. “I guarantee you that this is the last time that you will ever see this woman again; this is your chance to make her pay, stop her from hurting anyone else. Don’t walk away from the opportunity. Become vengeance.”

The moments that passed by felt like hours to Ben. The strength and confidence he was feeling earlier was starting to slip away and pass him by and fade away. He brought a hand up to the bridge of his nose and let out a audible sigh, feeling his son’s warm body so close to his again sent chills of terror down his spine. He knew exactly what Burnley was capable of, but wanted to free him of this terrible conditioning so badly. Someone had to give him a chance. Pushing Burnley’s hand off of him, he shook his head. “No.” Without another word, Ben started to walk off, turning his back on his son. 

“That’s unfortunate, Benjamin.” Burnley said. There was something in the tone in his voice that made Ben stop and turn around. The moment when he came face to face with him, he felt a blinding hot pain shoot through his body, radiating out from his stomach. Looking down, his eyes widen and he stared at disbelief at Burnley’s hand, clutching onto a scalpel that he had driven deeply into his midsection. Warm, red blood began to flow from the wound, and Burnley pulled his wrist back, sliding the blade from where it had sunk into layers of flesh and drove it in again and again in rapid succession. Driven by a fit of blood lust, Burnley kept stabbing until Ben fell down to the floor, clutching his hands tightly against the wounds, blinded with intense pain. “THEY TOOK EVERYTHING AWAY FROM YOU, AND YOU JUST WALK AWAY? YOU’RE PATHETIC!” He screamed. Dropping the gleaming blade down onto the floor, it clattered loudly and echoed in the empty corridor. Writhing in pain and agony, Ben reached out and tried to grab for the weapon, but Burnley turned around and kicked it out of his reach, moments before his fingertips could touch it. Raising his foot, he brought it down on Ben’s hand and pinned it there. A distinct sound of cracking bones joined Ben’s screams. Squatting down, Burnley slipped two fingers under Ben’s chin and tilted his head to face him, just like Ben had done to Selene earlier. “See what your compassion gets you? Nothing! I should of killed you earlier so that I didn’t have to sit though all that useless nonsense. In a way, I am glad that I did though, I got to see my gifts being used to their greatest potential, I managed to convince the great Benjamin Burnley to join the dark side! This is even better than murdering you, because I made you turn away from all that you know and love to you’re your only child. How does it feel knowing that you went against your own morals to save me? Hmm? Disgustingly noble.” Burnley let go of Ben and rose to his feet, grabbing the hem of his shirt which he had taken from Ben and wiped the blood off it with the hem and looked back towards the room they had just exited from. “Do you know that the corporation refers to her as ‘the witch’ even though she gave herself the nickname Antigravity Carnivore? Rumor has it that she has visions and sees things sometimes, hallucinations of what is to come. I find it very interesting, but unfortunately not enough to keep her alive, so I am going to end her life myself. How should I do it? Decapitation like her husband? No that’s far too poetic. I believe that according to the stories, there is only one full proof way to get rid of a witch.” Reaching into his pocket, Burnley withdrew a silver antique lighter and flicked it open. The bright yellow flame danced and reflected in his shimmering eyes. 

Through clenched teeth, Ben stared, horrified at his son. “They are right about you after all, you are an insane lunatic that can’t stop himself from harming others. There is no good left in you at all. It’s hopeless.” 

Burnley smiled and stood up, twisting around with cat like reflexes on his heavy leather combat boots and sauntered off down the hallway as Ben clutched at his stomach in agony. There was already a thick pool of blood spreading out from under him, and he knew that if he didn’t get it stopped soon, he would lose consciousness again and not wake up. As Burnley walked away, Ben managed to pull himself up against the wall and into a sitting position. Leaning his head back and trying to slow down his rapid heartbeat, he caught a glimpse of something silvery and shiny lying just out of reach from him. It was Burnley’s scalpel. Swallowing the stabbing pain down, Ben lunched forward trying to reach it, but was immediately stopped by a white hot searing agony that brought him back down to the floor. Gasping for breath, he laid his head down onto the cool concrete and stretched his fingers out; they just barely reached the handle of the scalpel. Grasping for it, the room started to spin, and Ben’s vision blurred. He had lost too much blood. Fighting the feeling as much as he could, he managed to get his fingers wrapped around the edge and pull it close to him, just as all the lights went out and he fell unconscious once again. A single tear fell from his closed eyes as he slipped away into oblivion knowing that he had lost his only son. 

Pushing the doors open with a dramatic flourish, Burnley instantly went for Selene, who had managed to pull herself up and was resting against the desk where all the research papers had been spread out. As he entered, her eyes went straight away to the small flecks of red that were smeared across his neck and face, as well as the dark section of his shirt that was wet and damp with fresh blood. “Damn you Burnley.” She said, turning away from him. “He only wanted to help you.”

“And he will. His death will give me enough confidence to finish my work here and move onto other things.”

“Other things?” Selene asked, not even quite caring what he was rambling on about. 

Walking over to her, Burnley leaned casually against the desk. “Do you think that I wouldn’t have a plan for what happened after I’ve successfully ended Benjamin’s life? Everyone who has had a hand in what was done to me has been dealt with.” He reached out and grabbed hold of one of Selene’s curls and wrapped it around his finger. “Well almost everyone.” He hesitated for a moment, almost if deciding whether or not to reveal his plan to her. Moments passed and then he brought out the lighter again flicking it open and closed as he spoke. “You see, I have had a lot of free time on my hands, waiting for you all to deliver Benjamin to me, and in that time I’ve manage to hack into a few computers and find out exactly where the main base is here on Prox for the F.E.C. After I find a way to get into their security systems, I am going to go there and kill every fucking one of them, working my way up to the leader. Once I find this person, I am going to remove their heart, ripping it out of their chest with my own hands and then devour it right in front of them. It’s gruesome, I know, but strangely fitting and ironic to be the end for those bastards.”

Selene’s eyes widened. “Wait! You know where their secret base is?!? Burnley, this information could bring about an end to the war here on Prox! It could save all of us!”

“And what would you have me do with it? Share it with what’s left of the Messengers so that they can take their miserably small group out to assault the place? I don’t think so. I don’t give a shit about the Messengers or this planet. I just want to kill each and every one of those mother fuckers.” 

Holding on tightly to the desk to keep from falling down, Selene took a step away from Burnley; her feet slipping on the multitude of chemically soaked papers on the floor around her. Her eyes fixed on the lighter in his hand and she instantly knew what he was planning on doing. “So you don't care about anything.... to hell with the planet or anyone else, as long as you get your revenge, right?”

“You don’t need a premonition of the future to see that, witch. It’s pretty much been my plan all along; I just needed time to accomplish it. I’ve never lied about it.” He said smugly.

“Burnley please.” In a desperate effort, she reached out and took hold of his hand, noticing how cold and lifeless it felt, and held it in hers. “Dustin tried to stop you from going down this path, I tried to convince you to stop as well, and your father did too, but we all failed.” She placed her other hand on top of his, he remained emotionless and still. “Now I feel this is the last chance. What you are about to do will seal your fate, there will be no going back… but you don’t have to be trapped like this. Give me the location of the facility, and let me go. I can help you….” Burnley’s amber eyes fell on her again and she started to tremble. Taking a deep breath, she gripped hold of his hand as tightly as she could and put every bit of strength into the words she was about to speak. “Please give me the location of the base, or transmit it to one of the Messenger bases, make things right... you have to start to change things, because...I know the secret you’ve been keeping…I know what you’ve done…and …” 

Before she could finish the sentence, Burnley grabbed her violently and began to strangle her, cutting off the flow of oxygen. Selene’s feet slipped on the papers and her knees gave out, leaving her body dangling precariously from his monstrously tight grip. Selene’s fingers clawed and pinched at his hand, trying her best to loosen it from around her neck, but he was far too strong for her. The breath in her lungs started to slow down and soon it was incredibly difficult to breathe. “I told you, I am beyond redemption, I want no part of it. If my soul is damned then let it be damned. No one can save me. Not now, not ever. There is no hope for me, my life is worthless.” Closing his hand tighter, Burnley held on tight to her as the last bit of oxygen left her lungs and she collapsed. Dropping her down onto the floor where she was surrounded by her own research papers, he shook his head and flicked open the lighter. It burst to life with a bright golden glow. “I have no secrets, witch.” With those words, he dropped it down and walked away. A loud whoosh echoed behind him and he felt the satisfying heat of the flames as they consumed both Selene and her life’s work. 

Calmly walking out of the room, he shut the door behind him and walked casually down the corridor, in search of Benjamin. He found the unconscious man a few feet later, slumped against the wall, with a expression of intense pain on his face. His skin was ashen white and his breathing was slow and labored. Benjamin Burnley was dying. Burnley sighed, he wished that he would return to find Ben missing, having used the last of his strength to slip away, and he would have to give chase; one last game of cat and mouse before it all ended. It was not to be; Ben had succumbed to his wounds and passed out, vulnerable and the easiest of prey. “Everyone said how utterly powerful and invincible you are, Benjamin. That you were this miraculous leader who was going to bring down the F.E.C. with the Messengers... Now I see that's all just a bunch of bullshit. You're human, like the rest of us with faults and greedy little desires. There's nothing special about you at all. This is the third time that you've been helpless before me and I am growing sick of this... you bore me. It ends here, tonight. For both of us.” Bending down, Burnley slipped Ben’s body into his arms and made his way back through the facility.

I pulled my lips away from Brock’s and felt his body soften up against mine. The air in the room was thick and dry, almost unbearably hot. I could feel my skin tingling with the warmth, whether it be from the fever that still infected my body or from being this close to him, I wasn’t sure which. I looked deep into Brock’s eyes, and saw something new there. They were shining brilliantly, like stars in the night sky, illuminated with hope and love. He had put the question to me once again, the one that I didn’t want to answer, the one that I feared, and I knew this time I wasn’t going to be able to avoid it. I don’t know why I kissed him, I didn’t know anything except for the fact that at that very moment, I wanted his lips on mine, I wanted to taste him and take my fill, assuring him that everything was going to be alright. He was searching my eyes so desperately for that comfort. As I ended the kiss, he reached up and placed a hand alongside my cheek and whispered to me. “I love you, Dustin.” It was at that moment I realized exactly what I had done, and instantly regretted it. He thought that I had chosen him. 

Taking his hand away from my face, I took a deep breath, trying my best to prepare myself for what I was about to say and laced my fingers together with his. “Brock… wait a moment..” All the light in his eyes suddenly went out, and the expression on his face twisted and became very dark. It was like someone shut off a light. He immediately stood up and tried to step away from me, but I pulled him back, and he roughly shoved me back against the bed. I was shocked by the forcefulness of that push and stared at him in disbelief as he turned his back on me.

“I should have known you would never have chosen me. After everything we’ve been through, everything that I’ve sacrificed, all the distance we’ve traveled together, your heart is still with him.” Picking up his backpack, Brock took another step away from me. I wanted to reach out and grab hold of his hand, to pull him back to me; I had the feeling that I was breaking his heart, but I knew that was the wrong thing to do. My choice was made and I had to let him go. If there was a slim chance that I could be with Ben... Lifting the bag onto his shoulder, he reached out for the door handle. “I’ll go get Benjamin back for you. I owe you that for all the time you’ve spent with me.”

The more he spoke in that dull, monotone lifeless voice, the angrier I was starting to feel. I knew that I had to somehow diffuse the situation before it became any worse. I didn't mean to hurt him. I stood up from the bed, letting the blanket that was wrapped around me fall down to the floor and walked towards him, wrapping my arms around his shoulders and giving him a hug from behind. It was like trying to hug a stone, cold and hard, there was no warmth to him at all. “You don’t owe me a single thing. We both knew what we were getting into from the very beginning. I know the hell that I’ve put you through… and I am sorry… ” Leaning in, I rested my head against his. ‘’I never meant for it to get this far.”

Grabbing my arms, he threw them off of him and turned around. There were tears streaming down his cheeks and he was shaking. “Maybe you did know what you were getting into Dustin, but not me. It’s never been ‘just a thing’ or a ‘game’…I fucking LOVED you. The only ‘hell’ I know is living without you, and you don’t give a shit about me. How can you be so heartless! I believed in you when no one else did, and you’re ready to throw that all away on Benjamin, who doesn’t even know who you are!” I swallowed hard, I didn’t know what to say to him, the warmth of the room was becoming too hot, and I was sweating profusely now. Brock lowered his voice “Like I said, I am going out there to bring Benjamin back to you, because I don’t break promises. I'm done.”

Brock walked out and slammed the door behind him. There was still so much I wanted to say to him, but the words just eluded me. Picking up the blanket from the floor where I had dropped it, I clutched it in my hands so tightly that I almost ripped it apart. Tossing the fabric aside, I sat back down on the bed and lowered my head, running my fingers through my hair. Everything was falling apart around me, spinning out of control and I had no idea how to stop it. I felt as though I was no longer in control of my own life, I was being blind folded and thrown into the unknown to be devoured by whatever predators were out there. Thomas had Lizzie, and had found his mother, Selene, making them a family again, Benjamin had the Messengers, or what was left of them… but all I had was guilt. Massive amounts of guilt floating around inside of me, injected so cruelly by Burnley that I couldn’t even think about anything else. It was eating me up from inside. I thought about Brock for a moment and then let out a quiet groan. I suddenly realized that my actions had just totally destroyed him. Why had I kissed him like that, giving him false hope? It was a moment of weakness, being so close to him made me forget about both Burnley and Benjamin for a moment. He was the bandage on a open wound that stopped the bleeding and made everything better. That’s what he always was. A temporary fix. I had done him a great disservice. I glanced down at my hands, at the crusty remnants of my own blood that still gathered around the edges of the fingernails with a dull interest. There was so much blood spilled here on Prox, so many people had died because of our actions.. And each time another life was lost, I found that I had retreated into Brock’s arms to stop all the hurt from spreading. He was always there, he never turned me away and I turned around and repaid him with coldness at the very moment when he came to me, and needed me the most. He told me that he ‘loved’ me… past tense and those words made me realize that I just couldn’t let him go. I couldn’t let him walk out of my life like that. He would come back with Benjamin and before we left this cursed place, I would make him understand and everything would be alright. All I had to do is keep focused on those beautiful brown eyes of his and not think about Ben, or Burnley or anyone else… 

Strapping the communication device onto my wrist, I searched the room and found my flight jacket and slipped into it. My glasses and bow tie were still missing, but Selene had been kind enough to leave me a new set of clothing stolen from the linen closet before she went out to hunt for Benjamin herself. The last message that Brock received from her worried me, she said that Ben was hurt, and near death, sent her coordinates and then all communication with her went dark. Something went terribly wrong, and now Brock was out there looking for her. I felt incredibly bad for sending him out alone, but at the time, the thought of seeing Benjamin again for the first time after his son had brutally raped me was unbearable. I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to keep the secret from him, all I had to do was look into those beautiful gray green eyes and I’d crumble. I couldn’t allow myself to fall apart, not here. I tightened the laces on my boots and started pacing the room, waiting for a signal from either Brock or from Thomas and Lizzie. The communication device would chime and Brock would return with Ben, and Selene and then we would make our way to the vehicle that Selene had hidden outside. It would be as easy as that. The temperature in the room started to drop quickly, almost to an unbearable level and soon I started to worry, an hour had passed and there was no signal from anyone. Becoming anxious, I pulled open the door and stepped outside, looking down the long corridors with the flickering lights. Nothing out of the ordinary except for the freezing cold temperatures. I retreated back into the room and waited, another hour passed and still no communication. Pulling out the comm device, I tuned into Brock’s frequency and called for him. All I got was static. No response. I punched in the code for the device that Thomas had taken with him and tried to reach him as well; nothing, dead air. The worry I was feeling was starting to turn in to a deep concern and by the third hour of waiting, I knew that I had to do something. Thomas had taken the laser rifle, Brock had taken the pistol, and there was nothing left for me to defend myself with. I was completely defenseless. 

Stepping out into the corridor, I glanced around, not sure which direction that I had to travel in. Already lost from the start, I knew that things were probably going to get much worse. I looked at the comm device that Brock had given me and realized that he had passed me his, and that the last message from Selene was still in it with the last coordinates where she would have been. Hoping that I could catch up with Brock, I hurried off as fast as I could, but was fearful that I would be able to catch up with him, considering he now had a three hour head start. 

As I navigated my way through the maze of corridors, I finally managed to find the room that the signal came, from and placing my hand on the one of the double doors, I pushed it open and was immediately assaulted by the disgusting stench of burnt flesh. I put the sleeve of my jacket over my nose and mouth and stepped inside, making my way past all the charred furniture to the center of the room, where there was a massive amount of discarded burnt paper and a human sized scorch mark on the floor. I bent down and touched the spot, letting my fingers feel the heat from the concrete floor and could still feel the residual heat from whatever was set on fire still warming the concrete. Amidst the papers were bits of black fabric, thick and completely soaked with chemicals, it was easy to see what had happened here. I picked up one of the bits of paper and glanced at it. These were the research notes and plans for the visors that the F.E.C. had created with Selene’s research. Something terrible had happened here not too long ago. This was the place that Brock had gone to, to help her with Benjamin and now none of them were here. If Burnley had been here….

No—it couldn’t be. I had to get moving, I had to find them. Keep focused on what was going on now, and not what might have happened. Forcing my feet to move, I started off back down the empty halls, occasionally moving past the corpse of a Carnivore that had been murdered by Burnley. I tried my best not to look at them as I walked by, at their horrible wounds and mutilations which claimed their lives in the most violent of manners. Soon I realized that I had become lost. The temperature ceased dropping, but it was still incredibly cold and it was sapping the last bit of strength that I had left in my body. I wandered off down what I thought was another corridor and saw something near the end of it. Curious, I started to walk forward and noticed two enormous steel doors embedded in the walls, with a malfunctioning keypad spitting electronic sparks into the air next to it. As I approached it, I could see that all the glass numbers had been shattered to bits and were scattered all over the floor around it along with large drops of dried blood. A chill ran down my spine as I saw that the blood trail moved from one side of the hall, over to the opposite side and then ended in the center of the hall, where a large backpack had been carelessly tossed aside. My heart sank. This wasn’t a F.E.C. standard issue bag, this belonged to the Messengers, and either belonged to Thomas or Brock. 

Sprinting down the hall I dropped to my knees in front of the bag and started sifting through the contents. Computer design plans, comic book sketches, video game logos drawn out on paper. “No.” I whispered. “No no no!” Grabbing the bag, I held it tightly to my chest and brought my hand to my mouth to stop myself from crying out. Discarded underneath the bag was Brock’s laser pistol that Thomas had handed over to him, and it was covered in blood. I didn’t touch it, but sat there and stared at it for a very long time, unable to take my eyes off it, like it was some creature that was going to crawl away. Brock was never one prone to violence, the only killing he took part in was playing Halo online against Benjamin when we were on tour. He always chose to solve things by talking them out, rationally and hearing all the sides to a story before coming to a conclusion. It was my fault that he was here. I brought him to the point of terrible violence and put him in a place where he didn’t want to be. Had I not been so connected with him, he would still be left behind, back on Earth, resting in peace. That's all he ever wanted, peace and quiet, and maybe to be loved. Is that what it was between us? A ‘connection’ and nothing more? I was trying to fool myself now. I knew damn well that I loved the poor boy and he tried his best to make me admit it to myself as well as him. Would I ever get the chance to be honest and tell him exactly how I felt? 

Sitting on the cold floor, holding onto Brock’s backpack, completely lost in my thoughts, I heard a noise behind me. I jerked my head back to see the doors to the control room opening, and saw a man stepping out into the hallway. Our eyes met…

Standing outside of the F.E.C. base, Thomas stood for long moments on the docks where he and Lizzie had just escaped from a short time earlier, looking off to the horizon where she had gone. After rescuing the injured Selene, Thomas knew that they would have to return to the Shallow Bay as soon as possible to get medical treatment for her, or else risk her life if they chose to stay. As much as he wanted to remain with Lizzie, who was injured herself, he had to let her go and seek help, trusting that she could complete the task. He couldn’t just walk away from the three men trapped inside who had become part of his family over the last year, especially Benjamin. He still loved the man dearly, but Ben was always stronger, more confident in the relationship, and now Thomas felt the need to step away, and take everything he had learned from him and apply it to his own life. Ben’s love for Dustin Bates was the most beautiful, most intensely passionate thing he had ever seen in his life, and he knew that he would never be able to challenge that. His motives for taking over leadership of the Messengers, and sending Thomas out on repetitive scouting missions were always the same. At first Thomas thought that Ben was merely doing what he could to take down the F.E.C., to stop them from their continuing global domination, but now that he was no longer blinded for his love, he could see that each and every mission was part of his search to find Dustin. All the computer hacking, looking for ‘prisoners’ was just a way to locate him and bring him home. In a way, Thomas felt as though he should have been upset, furious knowing the fact that Benjamin had used him, but with everything that had happened, he just couldn’t bring himself to hate that man. Ben had shown Thomas what it was like to really love someone, and be willing to do anything for them, and for that he was grateful.

Holding Lizzie’s tiny key in the palm of his hand, he looked up to the large building in front of him. So many times he had escaped from the F.E.C., and was able to make it back safely, vowing time and time again to never set foot in a horrible place like that again, but fate has a way of changing things; picking us up and setting us on a path that we weren’t quite ready for yet. The key he had given her to calm her down seemed to be more than a tiny trinket, it was a symbol of freedom. They had always been slaves to the F.E.C. in one manner or another, always worrying about being attacked, or discovered. Their lives were spent in fear for as long as he could remember, and in giving her the key, it was a gesture and a promise to her that he would find a way for both of them to be free. Now she had given it up and handed it back to him, a gesture showing what she was willing to give up for him, and it broke his heart.

As his eyes fell upon the massive steel stacks looming high above the base, a sudden chill ran down his spine, making him shake slightly in the harsh noon sunlight of Prox. He had this sinking feeling that maybe this was the time that he wasn’t going to make it out. He had made a promise to Lizzie that he’d bring everyone home, including the lunatic Burnley, but it seemed to be a monumental task, which he wasn’t sure he was completely ready for yet. Either way, it had to be done. Even though he was born on Earth, Prox was his home now and he was going to do whatever it took to save it.

Returning to the door where they had left from, Thomas tried to push it open, but it wouldn’t budge. Knowing Lizzie had blasted the keypad from the inside, he assumed that it was just stuck, and gripping both sides of the heavy metal, he tried his best to pull them apart, but they remained motionless, and deactivated. There was no way he would be able to get back inside the same way that he came out. Cursing to himself, Thomas started to walk around the perimeter of the base stealthily; he was still unsure about the lack of guards and didn’t want to risk making a stupid move and getting caught. Door after door was tightly sealed from the inside, with no point of entry from the exterior at all. He cursed himself for letting Lizzie leave with his weapon, and the communicator as well. Even if he did make it in, there would be no way to reach the others; he’d be going in completely blind. Thomas stopped for a moment and looked around at his surroundings. There were no combat, transportation or passenger vehicles anywhere to be seen. The main gates to the facility had been left open carelessly, and the electrical system that powered the invisible fences was no longer humming with activity. It was if the entire base was shut down and out of commission. What had Burnley done when he started the Eden project? Was it a base wide evacuation or something worse? 

Wiping the sweat off his brow, Thomas picked up his feet and moved on to try yet another door a hundred more yards away. It was almost the hottest part of the day, and the heat from the sun was starting to take its toll, he knew that he had to find a way inside, or risk becoming severely dehydrated. Pulling off his long coat and tactical vest, he tossed them down to the ground where they fell in a heap of dirt and dust and made his way over to the door he was closest to. Wiggling his fingers into a small gap, he stretched and strained, trying his best to get them apart, but it was no use, the electrical system in the entire facility was malfunctioning and nothing was working. Cursing to himself, he turned around and kicked at his vest in frustration, and accidentally dropped Lizzie’s silver key into the dirt. Pacing back and forth, Thomas ran his fingers through his sweat soaked hair, not knowing what to do. He had summoned all his courage to go back for the others, going against everything his head told him not to do, and listening to his heart instead, and now here he was, failing at the first task at hand, not getting back in. Why was this all falling on him? Was he anointed by some higher power to be the hero in the story, or was it fate’s way of turning him into the laughing stock of the universe and a big cosmic joke? There was so much pressure on him now, and he felt completely overwhelmed, but running away was not an option, not this time. There was too much riding on this. His eyes fell down to the ground, to the place where Lizzie’s key was lying, the silver, a dazzling sparking brilliance reflecting off the intensely hot sun high overhead.

Picking up the key from where it lay in the sand, he held it out in his hand for a moment, curling his fingers around the edges and holding onto it as tightly as he could. “I can do this, she needs me.” he murmured to himself and then tucked the key back into a pocket. Returning to the perimeter of the base, Thomas continued to search for an entrance, each moment out in the scorching sunlight bringing him closer and closer to exhaustion and dehydration. Drenched with sweat, he stopped at a random door and stood before it, idly staring up at the camera that was mounted overhead. A small light flashed on and off in rapid succession, evidence that it was still active, but whether or not it was being monitored was another story completely. Below the monitor, mounted at eye level was a control panel with a keypad attached to it which seemed to be functioning. Taking a chance, he punched in the key code that was once designated to him while he was still enslaved by the corporation. There was a moment of hesitation and then nothing. “Of course that wouldn’t work.” He laughed and shook his head. Thomas knew a lot about communications and satellite arrays for sending and receiving signals from far off distances, but hacking into computers wasn’t his thing, that was something that was right up Brock’s alley. 

Pushing the sweaty dark curls of hair out of his eyes, he sighed to himself and started to dance his fingers along each of the keys, inputting code after code as the sun continued to beat down on his fair skin from high above. Time and time, the screen flashed red and each failed. Rivers of sweat rolled down his back, soaking into his clothing and making it stick to his body, giving him an uncomfortably damp feeling. Each code he entered caused an error which was quickly adding to his anxiety. He had to get back into the base as soon as possible, time was of the essence, but nothing was working. Taking a moment to clear his mind, he forced himself to calm down and continue the process of entering codes. One of his major flaws was that he acted irrationally and was quick to anger when things didn’t go as planned. The entire situation of being coerced into using the visor was no one’s fault but his own, and he could finally understand this now. Had he only waited for the opportunity to talk to Benjamin, then they wouldn’t be in the position that they were now and things might have been incredibly different. 

Frowning, Thomas returned to the keypad and started entering numbers again. An hour passed then two, and three. The sun was at the highest point in the sky, and he started to feel light headed and weak. The codes weren’t working, there were just too many variables that he wasn’t hitting. “Damn it!” he screamed and threw a miserable punch at the door. Looking up into the camera, he shouted. “What are you afraid of Burnley? Huh? You sit in there behind your locked doors thinking you’re better than everyone else but the truth is that you’re hiding from yourself! You are nothing more than a childish coward!” 

Several moments of silence passed by as the dry, harsh wind started to pick up, whipping around Thomas, and making him feel as though he was in a convection oven being roasted. He didn’t know how much more of the heat he could withstand. Glancing off in the direction of where Lizzie went, he could see a massive sandstorm rising on the horizon, the dirt being picked up by the wind and scattered around on the currents of air. Storms of this kind were common on Prox, they were usually quick to end and doing little damage, but the longer he looked at this storm, the more eerie feeling he got from it. Stepping away from the door for a moment, Thomas put a hand over his eyes to shield them from the sunlight, and tried to get a better look. The weather distortion was miles away, but still looked massive to the naked eye. Then he heard a sound that made his heart sink, just below the sound of the wind was another subdued but still audible noise. It was something that was complete recognizable and terrifying at the same time. He knew then, at that moment that he wasn’t looking at a natural sandstorm, but instead a swarm of Carnivores in their assault vehicles heading out to intercept Lizzie and Selene. “Oh my god.” Thomas whispered under his breath. They had not come from the base, but from some other direction and would be on the women in a matter of minutes, gaining speed with each passing second, overtaking them in a short amount of time. The women were being hunted. 

“Burnley, you bastard! They aren’t a threat to you! Call them back!!” Thrusting his fists against the steel door, Thomas started yelling, his shrieks of anguish growing louder and louder, falling flat against the barren wasteland with no one to hear. Hitting the door until his knuckles could no longer take the punishment and were covered with bruises, Thomas turned around and watched helplessly as the dust on the horizon settled down and eventually stopped. With tears streaming down his eyes, he slumped back against the door and let his back slide down it, until he was sitting in the dirt, feeling utterly miserable. “Fuck!” Bringing his hand up to his face, he crudely wiped away his tears that mixed with the sweat and leaned his head back. Already highly dehydrated, his outburst had only weakened him further and now there was a nagging pain in the back of his head that wouldn’t go away. Closing his eyes against the blinding sunlight, Thomas thought about Lizzie and Selene, about what the Carnivores would do to them if they were caught, and prayed that it would be a quick death. Lizzie still had the rifle with her, she wouldn’t go down without a fight. A small smile played across his lips, remembering the look of wonder and fulfillment on her face when he proposed to her. Every instinct told him to wait until they escaped, make the moment something special for her when they could be alone, but he cast all those thoughts aside. Brock, Dustin, Selene, Lizzie, they were all his family now and were all present, so he took advantage of the moment. It had to be right then and there. They were all in the same place, and something inside hinted at the notion that they would never be all together again. Except for Benjamin. Ben wasn’t there. Would he ever get to see him again? It was uncertain. 

The exhaustion and fatigue crept into Thomas’s bones. He needed a break, just a short time to sit down and rest. This was all too much, too soon. He had been out in the sun for hours, was dehydrated and had not slept in days. “Silly me.” Thomas whispered to himself, feeling his body starting to become drowsy and tired. “I thought I had it this time.” His eyes refused to stay open any longer, his body sank down...Taking one last deep breath, he fell into a fitful sleep.

There was dirt and sand everywhere. It was in her face and she couldn't breathe. Gasping for air, she lifted her head up with great effort as an intense flash of pain shot down her body. Every bit of her skin felt like it was being ripped off. She could hear the cracking of fire and the loud shouts of men around her. Forcing her eyes open, she saw the tattered bits of long black robes flowing down around the ankles of the predators that surrounded her. They moved and swayed in the wind as they came closer and closer looking like black feathers flowing on the air. Stretching her arms out, she tried to lift herself up and move, she knew that she was in danger and had to get out of there as soon as possible, but it was useless. Something was pinning her down. They were getting closer. Reaching down, she pushed at the weight that was preventing her from moving and let out a loud cry, for her hand briefly touched upon the cold, motionless body of her companion. Panicking, she looked around and saw that the vehicle they had been riding in was upside down and engulfed in flames. They crackled and snapped around her loudly, as she struggled to move. She grabbed the shoulder of the other woman and started to shake her violently. “GET UP! GET UP!” she screamed, but there was no response. Suddenly a clawed hand shot in from outside the vehicle and took hold of her wrist. Desperately, she tried to pry it off her, but the grip was like steel, and there was no getting free from it. The fire grew hotter and more intense, flashing against her cheeks as the unknown assailant in the black robes yanked her harshly and she felt herself being pulled from the overturned vehicle. She slid through the sand and out into the desert, and saw that they were surrounded by black cloaked figures, the Carnivores. There was something different about these troops, their cloaks were ripped to shreds, their masks chipped and dented, covered in streaks of something that looked like dried blood and gore. They looked more like a flock of hungry, ravenous, flesh eating crows than genetically altered bio-humans created by the F.E.C. 

The moment she was free from the vehicle, they swarmed down on her, grabbing her arms and legs, pinning her down with great force, as their brethren swooped in and started to pull at the fabric of her clothing, ripping it to shreds. The sun was in her eyes, she started to scream, trying desperately to wake her friend, but her cries echoing loudly in the barren wasteland. “WAKE UP! WAKE UP!”

Thomas woke up with a start, flailing his arms about him in an effort to get the pack of rabid Carnivores off of him. His fists only finding air, he stopped and tried to catch his breath. There was no one around, he was alone. “What the fuck was that?” he said to himself. There was a taste of blood in his mouth and swore that he could smell the distinct scent of smoke on his clothing. What had he just seen? His heart started to race, was that a vision of Selene and Lizzie? It felt so real. How could he be seeing things like this? He glanced down at his hands and rubbed his wrists, still feeling the cold claws of the Carnivore crushing them as they pulled her from the overturned vehicle and his heart sank. 

Taking a deep breath, Thomas knew that he had to move, and move fast. He found that his body was lying flat on the ground in front of the large steel doors that were now open behind him. The sun was beginning to set and there was a eerie calmness that surrounded the base and hung in the air like a death shroud. He looked off to the horizon, where he had last seen the cloud of dust rising in the direction that Lizzie and Selene had gone, but it had disappeared, replaced by plumes of billowing black smoke. A pit formed in the bottom of his stomach, he was to far away to help them. Pulling himself to his feet, he turned around and stared slack jawed at the doors and the darkness beyond, not quite sure if it was a trap or not. Gingerly he stepped forward, past the threshold and glanced around. Immediately the coldness hit him and caused him to shiver as the sweat from his body was absorbed by the frigid climate of the base. The life support system had not been completely shut down after all, but instead, left at a excruciatingly low temperature, making it feel like the arctic inside. Examining the area, he could clearly see that there was no one hiding in the shadows waiting to attack him, only empty corridors that led far into the depths of the facility. He wrapped his bare arms around himself and turned around, seeing his breath crystallize in the cold air and dropped his eyes down to the floor, the sight there froze the blood in his veins as much as his skin was freezing. Coming in from the outside where Thomas had fallen asleep, were sets of footprints, several of them that went from the desert outside, down a hallway and disappeared into the darkness. Along the footprint trail were tiny drops of red. Thomas already knew what it was before he bent down and ran his fingers through the stains. It was blood, still fresh and slightly warm. A sickness formed in his stomach. While he was unconscious, a group must have passed through the door and into the F.E.C. base, walking right past him with an injured person. Touching one of the footprints, he couldn’t tell if it was from a male or female, but started to fear the worst. Had the Carnivores come from another base and intercepted the girls and brought them back? The black smoke on the horizon and his eerie premonition were evidence that something horrible happened. His mind raced, and a feeling of disbelief overcame him. Selene could see things, not him... What if the Carnivores abducted the women and were now going to hand them over to Burnley? 

Thomas jumped to his feet and looked down further into the corridor beyond. It was pitch black, occasionally lit by a random security light that would flash on and off as it malfunctioned every once in a while. He had no gear, no weapons and no way of knowing what he was getting himself into. He slipped his hand into his pocket for a moment and felt the cool silver of Lizzie’s Alice in Wonderland key touching his fingertips, and it gave him comfort. One way or another, he was going to fulfill his promise to her, even if it meant walking into a trap. She was his starlight.

Burnley turned around and looked back down the steps toward Brock, who was holding his broken hand against his chest and staring back out to the fading lights of the hall. “You’re still so afraid of letting go.” Burnley said, as he descended back down the stairs and came to stand in front of him, stopping just a few steps away, keeping his distance so he was standing higher than Brock. Reaching out, he wrapped his fingers around the upper part of Brock’s injured arm, just below the shoulder and gave it a squeeze. Brock inhaled sharply as a bolt of pain shot down his arm and spread out through the shattered bones, nearly knocking him down with the intensity. “Everything out there, none of that is real anymore.” He tightened his fingers, and Brock struggled not to cry out. “This… this pain is real. It is the one single thing that you know will always be there, waiting for you to return to it, filling up all the empty spaces that they have put inside your soul and making you forget about everything else.” Loosening up his grip, Burnley looked Brock in the eyes, meeting his gaze straight on and unfaltering. “Don’t be afraid of it.” A moment of silence passed between the men, and then turning away, Burnley started to walk back up the dark staircase. He didn’t have to wait and see if Brock followed him, he knew that he would.

Upon reaching the main floor of the control room, Brock was immediately awed by the massive glass windows that lined the central control room. Each one ran from the floor to the ceiling and encircled the room like a bubble suspended high above the rest of the facility. Thick, silver shutters were drawn across the glass panes, preventing him from seeing anything but darkness beyond. A highly complicated and sophisticated panel of computers also ran along the length of the room, with multiple monitors, each displaying different information on the current status of the base. It was like nothing Brock had ever seen before, and as he took a step in, Burnley noticed his reaction. “It’s quite magnificent, isn’t it? Every piece of this equipment had been manufactured and highly tuned by the F.E.C. for maximum efficiency. The base is completely self-sufficient for up to 10 years with little to no outside influence. Burnley walked over to Brock, who was now starting to sway back and forth slightly. The adrenaline rush was starting to wear off, and the pain of his injury was becoming too much for him to withstand. His face went pale, and cold, moist beads of sweat began to bead up on his forehead. “Let’s get you taken care of first.” Burnley said in a strangely comforting tone. Brock was only half listening, his mind off in some faraway place, cast out and driven away by Dustin’s cold hearted kiss that he could still taste in his mouth, on his lips like a putrid bite of rancid food.

Pulling over one of the chairs from the control panel, Burnley helped Brock ease himself down into a sitting position, and took a moment to gaze upon the sickly pale form in front of him with an almost sincere, sympathetic expression. Brock started to shiver a bit, the cold intensifying the shock that his body was going through, and Burnley brought him over a thick, dark jacket, carefully draping it over his narrow shoulders and then went about looking for a medical kit. “Why… why are you doing this?” Brock asked, looking over to him with red-rimmed eyes. 

“Why wouldn’t I?” Burnley asked, the tone in his voice sounding honest and curious at the same time.

Brock lowered his head, trying to hold back tears. “I was actually happy when I saw you appear in the hall.” He kept his eyes fixed on the dark windows in front of him, never wavering, as he spoke. “I thought that all the hurt and pain I was going through would finally be over. All that sorrow and grief of being thrown away and discarded would go away.” Burnley slowly came to stand in front of him, holding the medical kit and listening intently to Brock’s words. “I was so cold, and I knew that I would never feel warmth in my heart ever again. Then there you were; the solution to all my problems, Burnley, the lunatic, the maniac, the one who would kill me. I could die at your hands and that would be the end of it. But you didn’t do it, you left me alive.” Brock slowly lifted his head up, tears now streaming down his face. “Every fucking thing they said about you is right, Burnley…you love inflicting pain on people, don’t you? Leaving to me live and suffer is a hundred times more amusing then downright killing me, or letting me do it myself.”

Grabbing a chair, Burnley wheeled it over and sat down casually in front of him, sitting the medical kit on the floor next to his feet. He reached out and grabbed Brock’s broken hand and put his hand over top of it. The slight pressure on the broken bones almost made him pass out, and Brock struggled through the pain to keep focused on Burnley, knowing that he could pass out at any moment. “Tell me what you feel.” Burnley said his voice deep and commanding as his fingers lightly ran over Brock’s skin.

“What do you think I am feeling? The bones in my fingers and wrist are shattered. It hurts like hell.” Brock answered. 

“No.” Burnley whispered. Still keeping hold of Brock’s injured hand; he reached out and tugged on his chair, pulling him closer. Their bodies were close to one another now, the distance between them evaporated and replaced by an intimate closeness that made Brock shiver even more. Still, he did not move or try to slip away from Ben’s son. Something told him that is exactly what Burnley wanted. He wanted the fight, the pleasure of the chase, and he wasn’t going to get it. He had put himself in this position and was ready to suffer whatever consequences came as a result. Nothing mattered anymore, anyway. “I know you Brock. You are the silent one who always stood back and watched the world unfolding around him, feeling powerless. You’d rather suffer in silence than speak up and say what you’re actually feeling because you want others to be happy, valuing their happiness over your own. I want you to tell me your feelings, the truth behind the silence that you so love to hide yourself in. No more keeping your emotions and lies secret. Consider me your confessor if you must, let me hear all the sins that have been digging holes inside your heart that you are trying to hide.”

Brock’s eyes searched Burnley’s, noticing that they were not like those of his father at all. There was no gray or green to them, but an intense amber color, swirling with multi shades that danced like diamonds in the dim light. “I don’t know what you expect of me. We’re enemies, plain and simple. Do you want me to tell you how much I hate you for raping and torturing Dustin? For taking away the one thing that he loves the most in his life, and turning it into something as dark and twisted as your own soul?” He shook his head, feeling the warmth of the tears running down his face hot on his cheeks. It was a little bit of warmth in the otherwise freezing cold room. “If that’s what you’re looking for, then I am sorry to be a disappointment to you as well, because the truth is that I don’t hate you for what you have done. Part of me knew that he loved Benjamin tremendously, but would not admit it. It’s all my fault because I refused to share his affections with anyone else. I wanted Dustin to be mine and mine alone; I couldn’t stand the thought of Ben even touching him. It was because of the ultimatum I gave him that led him to never answering the question I kept asking him. I let him lead me along blindly; always hoping for that one brief moment that I could steal from him and pretend that he loved me as much as he loved Benjamin.” Brock stopped for a moment, the words flowing out of him like a river, making him feel even more miserable. He felt as though he had opened up a vein, and all the emotions and feelings he had kept inside for so long came flooding out; he had revealed everything to Burnley. There was no going back now. “What you did to Dustin was horrific, and twisted, but it brought something out of him that I never thought possible. I always thought that he would one day choose me, that my love for him was enough, but it wasn’t… he wanted Benjamin’s love, mine was nothing more than a temporary substitute, something to kill time with until he could be in his arms again. It solidified what they had and made it real. I hate you for bringing this out in him; I hate you for making me see the truth.”

Burnley sat very still and ran his fingertips over Brock’s bruised and broken knuckles and leaned in closer to him. Brock could pick up the scent of death and blood that clung in the air around him like a macabre cologne. “I don’t want to hear about Dustin.” He whispered. “And I don’t want to hear about Benjamin either.” Brock sat completely still, feeling like a rabbit trapped in a snare. “I want you to tell me about you.” He shifted forward slightly and brought his face close to Brock’s face; shoulders hunched over and body stretching, easing, and moving closer with every throbbing beat of his heart. “Tell me how you felt, when he put his lips on yours and betrayed you with a kiss… Show me the darkness that crept inside and took hold of you, filling the spaces where the love once was… let me taste it.” Before Brock could say anything else, Burnley parted his lips and kissed him suddenly and unexpectedly, with such force that he thought he would go falling backwards out of the chair. Clutching onto the armrest with his good hand, Brock sank into the kiss, feeling Burnley’s lips devour his with a ravenous hunger that truly frightened him, but also excited him at the same time. There was something about the way that the weight of his lips felt, brushing so seductively against his own, that made Brock feel completely overwhelmed. It did not feel like Dustin’s kiss at all, which sometimes was timid and a bit apprehensive. Instead, Burnley’s was open and honest, warm and inviting, almost enticing him to surrender to it. Brock’s fingertips dug into the thick fabric material of the chair, grasping something, anything to hold onto to avoid being totally engulfed in the moment. 

Reaching up, Burnley lightly ran his fingers across Brock’s cheekbone, brushing them over his chilled skin with a precise motion that sent shivers down his spine. He pulled his lips away from Brock’s and sat back on the chair, admiring the obvious state of discomfort he had put him in. “You asked me why I didn’t kill you. Well, the reason is because I need you.”

“What?” Brock asked. For a moment, he forgot about the pain in his hand and could do nothing but stare at Burnley sitting in front of him. The forced kiss had completely taken away the taste of Dustin’s lips which was still lingering there, like a bad memory, replaced by something full and completely overwhelming. His lips tingled and for some strange reason, he wanted more. If Burnley’s kiss could make him forget… 

Brock knew that he should get up, he needed to leave this place as fast as possible, whatever Burnley was up to, it couldn't be good, but still he remained, and he wasn't quite sure why. Looking down at his lacerated knuckles, Brock tried to avoid looking Burnley in his eyes. He noticed that the bleeding had stopped and there were large chunks of dried blood that now covered the top of his hand entirely, which was beginning to throb and swell. 

Opening up the medical kit, Burnley pulled a roll of some oddly iridescent gauze and started to unwrap it as he spoke. He gently picked up Brock’s swollen arm with great care and started to wrap the material around it, speaking quietly as he tended to the wound. “I’ve been on Prox for over 20 years now. I know almost everything about this pathetic planet and everyone on it. When the F.E.C. found Dustin Bates out in the desert wandering alone, it was by my order that he was taken captive and tortured. I was brought here to destroy Benjamin, and I thought that I could find out his location through Bates. Sadly though, the visor didn’t work on him, and we weren’t able to extract any of that information… but you already know all about that, don’t you Brock? Because you were the one that had already infiltrated the F.E.C. and gained a position of power, enabling you to override some of the visors, preventing us from getting any information from him.” Burnley finished the first layer of shimmering gauze material on Brock’s wrist and then started to add a second. There was a frightened look in Brock’s eyes now, a fearful, almost terrified expression of dread. Noticing it, Burnley smiled at the man before him. “You don’t have to be afraid of retribution, Brock. I knew exactly what you were doing and I allowed it. In a way, we were on the same side.”

Sitting motionless, Brock found that he still couldn’t move, even if he wanted to. The tone in Burnley’s voice, his tender touch, the mesmerizing way he moved, was all very fascinating to him, and he was drawn in, hanging on every single word that he said. “If you knew what I was doing, why didn’t you do anything against me?” Brock asked, curious. “You could have stopped me.”

After adding a third layer of gauze, Burnley cut off the excess and returned it to the kit. “Don’t move.” He commanded and pointed at Brock’s wrapped hand and wrist. “That will form a hard cast in about five minutes, but you must not move it at all, or else the process will be interrupted and I will have to dress it all over again.” Standing up before him, Brock watched as Burnley took the medical kit and returned it to the place on the shelf. With his back to him, Burnley started to speak again. “You must know that at that time, I was just in the same position as you, both merely employees of the F.E.C. I may have been their ‘special project’ but there were still limits to what I could and couldn’t do. I had been watching you for some time. I was interested in the man who had suffered so much at the hands of the one that he loved, and would give up so much for him. I was intrigued by the person that you are, Brock, for what’s inside of you… you have this incredible strength that no one else sees… but I do.” Pulling a small black box off the shelf and tucking it into his back pocket, Burnley returned to where Brock was sitting and put a hand on his shoulder. “Bates destroyed you, he punished you mentally and physically, and yet you still loved him. Right down to your dying breath, you refused to let the hatred overcome you, you embraced the pain and brought it into yourself, making you stronger. This is the very thing that I believe in. Pain strengthens people, giving them the power to overcome.” Slowly walking around behind Brock, Burnley put his other hand on his shoulder and slipped the jacket that he had given him off, letting it fall away discarded. Brock’s heart began to beat furiously in his chest. “Now you know why I love inflicting pain on people so much. Seeing them fight their way through it, excites me. It gives me great pleasure to see someone on the edge of that delicate place between life and death, screaming out for mercy. If they chose to overcome it, to make it though, then that is truly the moment of climax, the most exciting moment when everything else just falls away and you’re left with this beautiful afterglow of ecstasy.” Slipping his fingers underneath the collar of Brock’s shirt, Burnley let his fingers glide along the gentle slope of his shoulders, caressing and exploring the smooth softness of the young man’s skin. “You’ve been through all of this Brock. All the agony, all the sorrow, life and death, I’ve seen it in your eyes as I watched you at work looking for Bates. I became instantly infatuated with the man sitting there at the keyboard every single day, searching desperately for the source of all his pain and pleasure so that he may bring him back to experience those sensations all over again. That's devotion, that's love.”

Feeling Burnley’s thin fingers on his bare skin, Brock jumped slightly and then felt Burnley push him back down, whispering. “The cast isn’t set yet, just a few moments longer, please remain still.” Brock’s mouth was dry and his throat parched, the air in the room was still cold and frigid, but heat from Burnley’s fingers was more than enough to make him forget about the discomfort. They seared his skin and seemed to burn holes right through him, burning him up inside and igniting a spark in his heart that he thought would totally consume him. A few minutes ago, he was about to end his life, and now here he was, alone with the enemy, hanging on every single word that he spoke, desperately waiting for another sentence to be spoken, another touch to be felt, he would take anything given to him at this point.

Sliding his hands down further, gliding them down Brock’s chest now, Burnley leaned down slightly and brought his lips to his ear. “You deserve someone who can truly appreciate you and everything you’ve been though.” He swirled his fingers, moving them back and forth between Brock’s nipples. “Bates will never be this person; you know this for a fact now. All he does is take and take from you, leaving you with nothing but crumbs of affection. You’ve trapped yourself inside of the cage of his false love, refusing to allow yourself the freedom of having feelings for anyone else… and I can be the one to set you free.”

Brock leaned his head back, resting it against Burnley’s chest and closed his eyes. He could feel the slight rise and fall from the breath moving through his lungs. Being this close to the man that everyone feared was exciting, thrilling. Every single nerve in his body was sensing this closeness and wanting him to give in, relinquish control of his thoughts and submerge his conscious thoughts into the darkness. A part of him refused to let go. Burnley was a murderer and rapist, after all. Brock couldn’t be swayed by someone who had committed horrendous crimes. He swallowed and struggled to find his voice.“This is wrong. You’re insane, Burnley… just let me go or kill me.” He said though clenched teeth. “I don’t want to be forced to go through this.”

“I am not forcing you to do anything. Every choice you make is yours and yours alone. If you like, you can get up and walk out that door, I won’t stop you… but what do you have to go back to? Bates threw you away, and is expecting you to do the work for him and bring back his lover. No one does that! Not even those who are deeply in love. Stop being his slave.” Burnley leaned in, his lips now running along the back of Brock’s ear. “What would you do after you’ve left here with him? Run away to die alone in the desert wasteland of Prox alone and unloved? No, you’re not that stupid. Perhaps you would go back to the Shallow Bay with Bates and Benjamin? You know that their love is so strong that eventually they would end up together again. It’s inevitable. Imagine walking through the hallway at night, passing by the door to their quarters and hearing their voices as they whisper to one another, lost in a moment of passion, locked in one another’s embrace. That first night they are together again would be the worst. How could you close your eyes and go to sleep knowing that in another section of the base Benjamin is burying his cock so deep inside of Bates that it causes him to shed tears and bite down on his tongue to keep from crying out, because he is taking what he feels belongs to him. He's turning Bates into the mindless slave to the dark, twisted passion that consumes him. He won't ever be able to let go of him. The worst part of it all is that this is that you know that this is what Bates wants, and all you can do there is lay in your bed, eyes fixed and staring at the ceiling, wishing that either it was you in there with him or you were dead.” Removing his hands from underneath Brock’s shirt, Burnley reached forward and tapped on the gauze that he had wrapped his wrist in. It had now dried and turned into a solid mass, the wrist and hand were completely immobilized. “The cast is complete.” He stood up and walked over to the panel of monitors, turning away from Brock, the tone in his voice went from soft and sweet to flat and emotionless. “You can expect a bit of pain while the bones shift back into position, but it should be fully healed in a few weeks, then it can be removed. There are some supplies on the shelf over there and a new backpack. Help yourself to them. You are free to go.”

Still sitting in the chair, Brock held his hand up and examined the perfectly formed cast that Burnley had put on it in disbelief. “I… I.. can go? This isn’t some trick is it?” he asked, rising to his feet.

“I’ve already adjusted the life support system. It will take some time to come back up to temperature, in the meantime, I suggest you take that jacket with you. In the pocket, you will find a key card that will allow you access to the sub basement where there are vehicles waiting. Get out of here and don't look back. Forget.” Burnley stared at one of the monitors, watching a video feed of something outside with interest, completely disinterested in Brock now. 

“Why are you doing this Burnley?” Brock asked.

Not looking up from the monitor, Burnley shook his head. “You already asked me that question once today. The answer is pretty much still the same. Just think about it.”

Grabbing the jacket from where it had fallen, Brock slipped it on and grabbed a new backpack and started dropping medical supplies in it. He didn’t know what to say. Burnley had completely thrown him off guard and turned everything upside down. For the first time in his life, Brock felt lost and confused. Thinking back about Burnley’s words about Dustin and Ben, it made him feel sick. “Oh and Brock?” Burnley called over to him. “If you walk out that door and if our paths cross again. I will kill you, know this.”

Brock shivered and made his way for the door. As he approached it, it automatically slid open, and he stepped through it, but did not move any further. His fingers clutched at the straps of the bag. “I can’t be a part of what you and the F.E.C. are doing, Burnley.” He called back over his shoulder. 

“Look out into the halls of this place, Brock. See the death that I’ve brought to those who have called it home. These are the people who stolen me away from my family and brought me here. All my life I’ve been waiting, biding my time until I could find a way to rise up and fight against them, and I’ve done just that. I slaughtered countless Carnivores in the name of revenge against the F.E.C. and that is all I want. Revenge, plain and simple.” Burnley leaned over the computer console and lowered his head, his shoulders slumped and Brock detected a note of sorrow in his voice as he spoke. “I was ripped away from my mother’s arms, forced out of a childhood to be dropped into a world that I didn’t belong. I knew that one day, I would make them all pay. That is the passion that consumes me now. Making them stop.” Turning around, he faced Brock, who had moved back into the room and walking towards him. “When you begin a journey of revenge, you start by digging two graves: one for your enemy, and one for yourself. I am going to bring the F.E.C. down to it’s knees, Brock. And after that…”

Brock dropped his bag and came to stand in front of Burnley. He looked up at the man who resembled the man he hated so much, but was so different. Keeping his hands at his side, Brock forced himself not to reach out for Burnley, but there was something there that was drawing him in. For some odd reason he wanted to comfort him. “You can take them down?” he asked. 

Burnley nodded. “I can, and I will. I have information where their main facility is, but it’s under high security. I need someone like you who can hack the system and get inside, someone like you, Brock. I can’t do this alone.”

A rush of excitement ran through Brock. Burnley had access to the information that could save Prox. Every part of his head told him that he should walk out that door, get away from him as soon as possible, but Burnley had a very valid point, what did he have to go back to? “If I help you…” Brock started to speak, but was abruptly cut off. 

“I can give you something that you want.” Burnley said, his expression turning to even softer and more compassionate. “You are alone here, Brock… the same as I. You don’t fit in anywhere and you never will. We are kindred spirits, you and I.” He stepped forward, towering over Brock, but didn’t touch him. “You have been a beacon of light for so long, but that light is starting to dim and you find yourself stumbling in the darkness. All you know, all you’ve once loved is slipping away, but I can make it right. All you have to do is reach out and take my hand. I can’t give you back that light that you once had, no one can at this point, but I will sit with you in the darkness. Give yourself over to me, let me lead you, trust me and as the Free Energy Corporation falls, I will give you a gift that you’ve been longing for, for so long.”

“…and what is that?” Brock asked. His voice was barely a whisper. 

Burnley reached up and ran his fingers through Brock’s sandy colored hair and then cradled the back of his head with the palm of his hand. Stepping in closer, he rested his forehead against his and locked his eyes onto Brock. Burnley’s other hand dropped onto Brock’s hip and then slipped around behind him, his fingers spread out and danced over his lower back with feather like movements. Brock’s entire body was trembling now, he was physically and mentally trapped by Burnley. “I can give you your life back. If you let go of the past, I can free you of all those memories, and fill your mind with exquisite new ones, sensations of pleasure beyond your wildest dreams. I am offering you this because I know that you need me, just as much as I need you.” Burnley lifted the edge of Brock’s shirt and jacket, and thrust his fingertips onto his warm skin, crawling them up his spine with slow, calculated movements. “Are you afraid of me, Brock? I am offering you the power to effect monumental change, to bring about the end of the F.E.C. and to surrender yourself into a new world, a world where you will be loved and respected, treated as a God.” Burnley’s head tilted slightly and Brock inhaled, holding the breath painfully inside of his chest, Burnley was going to kiss him, he wanted this so badly. He could already feel the breath on his skin, feel the blood racing through his veins. “Do you want this Brock, or perhaps you would you let fear consume you?”

Taking hold of Burnley’s arms, he noticed how strong and muscular they were. There was an immense power there that was completely undecipherable, but yet at the same time, he was so delicate and alluring that Brock just wanted to be pulled into those arms and suffocated in his warmth. “I.. I.. am not afraid of you.” He stammered. 

“Prove it.” Burnley said. In an instant, Brock straightened up, standing as tall as he could against the larger man and pressed his lips tight against Burnley’s. Brock let out a small moan as Burnley brought him into his arms and drew him in and took over the kiss, drawing the breath right out of his lungs and taking it into his own. Brock closed his eyes, trying not to focus on the face of Ben’s son as he was swept away in a wave of intense passion that threatened to bring him down to his knees. This kiss was unlike the first one, which was tender and sweet, almost tempestuous. Instead, Burnley’s lips were filled with the breath of life and the spark which set Brock’s heart on fire. He arched his fingers and clutched at his arms, digging his fingertips deep into Burnley’s flesh, as his body became arouse and responded to the seductive kiss. Feeling this sensation, Burnley dropped his hands down to Brock’s thin waist and pushed him up against the computer console, slamming him against it with a dull thud. Grasping at the edges of Burnley’s shirt, Brock started to pull it off, and then realized that it was Ben’s shirt. He stopped completely, frozen and sad. His life was going to change. A thin piece of material made him realize that he wasn’t just discarding a article of clothing, but he was throwing away his old life and the people that he let in it. All those people who hurt him and used him time and time again would be nothing but bitter memories locked away forever in the back of his mind, far away from his heart where they couldn’t ever hurt him again. Burnley said that he had strength inside of him, and for the first time, he truly felt it. Ben’s son was the only one who believed in him, and wanted him. All he had to do was trust. That’s basically what everyone wants from life, someone to connect with, to trust… and to love. 

“That life is over.” Burnley said, almost reading Brock’s thoughts. Letting go of him for a moment, Burnley shrugged the shirt off his shoulders and tossed it aside. He grabbed hold of Brock’s hand and placed it on his chest over a series of jagged scars that ran over his body. “This is what matters now, taking all the pain that you’ve received and using it to make yourself stronger.” He pushed himself against Brock, who recoiled a little at first and then looking into Burnley’s deep amber eyes, started to relax again. “I know everything that you need, everything that you want, Brock Richards. I can give it all to you. Has anyone else ever offered you that and sincerely meant it?” Burnley pushed Brock back to the computer console and leaned in. The weight of his body on top of Brock felt crushing and suffocating, but Burnley was right, it drowned everything else out and made it go away. Bringing his lips to over Brock’s ear again, he whispered to him so quietly that Brock wasn’t sure he heard it clearly at first. He glanced at Burnley confused and once again, he repeated it and Brock’s eyes widened and he immediately started to cry. The tears streamed down his cheeks and he lost all control over his body, collapsing down onto the control panel and Burnley climbed on top of him. Reaching up, Brock grabbed for his shoulders and he wrapped his thin legs around Burnley’s waist, feeling the heat from his body through the clothing and drew him near. Turning his face to the side, Brock’s tears rolled off his cheeks and onto the array of monitors that he was now laying on. Burnley pressed his chest against Brock’s and leaned in, placing a series of kisses down Brock’s throat, each one pressing harder and harder, gaining in intensity as he moved lower down his body. Closing his eyes, Brock kept thinking of the words that Burnley had just whispered into his ear.

“I can send you home.”


End file.
